Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp has delivered an update on the fitness of key players Andy Robertson and Fabinho ahead of the FA Cup final against Chelsea on Saturday.
The Reds are still fighting for four trophies this season, although they face an uphill battle in the Premier League. Nevertheless, Klopp chose to rest Mohamed Salah and Thiago in his side's 2-1 win over Aston Villa on Wednesday night. The pair were later introduced from the bench but they may feel the benefit of not having to play an entire 90 minutes in light of the weekend's huge game at Wembley.
Surprisingly though, Robertson was left out of the entire matchday squad. The German has since insisted that was a rotational decision as Kostas Tsimikas came into replace him in the starting XI.
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But Klopp may now wish that he had done the same with Fabinho, who limped out of the action with the scores level at 1-1 after just 30 minutes.
Speaking about the injury and the decision to omit Robertson, the Reds boss said, as cited by the Liverpool Echo: "I don’t know [how bad it is]. He [Fabinho] felt the muscle, not too much. He is quite positive but I’m not sure what I can make of that, to be honest. We will see. I think the rest came through without problems.
"Robbo was not in the squad today because I wanted to give him just a rest at home and bring another striker into the squad if we needed, that’s it."
Although Robertson is expected to start against Chelsea, Thomas Tuchel's side will be encouraged by the news about Fabinho. The Brazilian is a crucial presence, adding solidity to the midfield and protection to the defence as the Reds' attacking talents run riot. Without that additional safety net in front of the back four, the Merseyside outfit are that little bit more vulnerable - as we saw against Villa, who often troubled the back line.
