More injury woe for Jeremie Frimpong! Liverpool defender forced off again in Champions League clash with Qarabag

Frimpong's debut season on Merseyside has been blighted by repeated muscle injuries. While it appeared the 25-year-old was complaining about his groin before exiting the Champions League tie with Qarabag, it has been his hamstring that has caused him to miss 18 games for club and country during the 2025-26 campaign. He missed 12 consecutive games during a two month spell on the sidelines at the end of last year. 

The repeated ailments have meant the right-back has struggled to settle since arriving in Liverpool from Bayer Leverkusen during the summer for a fee of £29.5 million ($37.5m).

Frimpong's injury compounds Slot's problems in defence. The Premier League-winning manager is particularly short at right-back, with Bradley ruled out for the remainder of the season with a serious knee injury that he picked up during Liverpool's 1-1 draw with Arsenal earlier this month. Gomez has provided back-up in that position for both Slot and Jurgen Klopp over the years, however the ex-Charlton man is carrying a hip injury he sustained in the Reds' 3-2 loss away at Bournemouth last weekend. Konate has been absent for the past week, as he takes some time away from the squad to mourn the passing of his father. 

The shortage has left Slot already shuffling his players around the park. Ryan Gravenberch started Wednesday night's game in the centre of defence, while Endo's introduction likely means Dominik Szboszlai will slot back into the right side of defence, after ably covering the position earlier in the season.

Slot addressed his injury problems in a pre-match press conference, earlier this week.

He said: "Even if you would reconsider and you come to a different decision, then the question is are we able to change it? Can we make this squad bigger with the money available and the things we can do?

"We are maybe one or two players short compared to last season in terms of numbers, and if you add then three long-term injuries to that, then all of a sudden it is quite a lot.

"This is not going to be a popular opinion what I am going to tell you now. But maybe the reason we won the league last season is we had to play Paris Saint-Germain in the last 16, because as you know they beat us and we had every time a week to prepare for our next game.

"We are aware, every manager is aware, the bigger squad you have, the better equipped you are for so many games. But I am also aware of the fact that even today I had to disappoint one or two players that would prefer to play.

"Now if you have 10 or 15 who want that, that is also not a good thing to have. It is not an easy balance to find, but obvious because of the three long-term injuries, now it is a imbalance, that is obvious."

Liverpool are on course to cruise to victory over Qarabag. A win guarantees the Reds will progress to the last 16 of the Champions League, skipping the need for the playoff rounds. Easing any fixture congestion would be a bonus for Slot's stretched squad. 

The Reds also face a tricky run of Premier League clashes, as they square off with Newcastle and Manchester City over the next two weekends. Frimpong's absence would present a real issue for Slot during a crucial juncture in their season.