Liverpool have been dealt a double blow ahead of next Tuesday's meeting with Villarreal at Anfield in the third round of the Champions League league phase. Hungary's Dominik Szoboszlai and the Netherlands' Jeremie Frimpong both picked up injuries during Saturday's 2-1 win over Brentford in the Premier League, and there are fears both could miss the eagerly awaited European tie.
Szoboszlai went down in the 32nd minute, muscular pain forcing him off the pitch. Frimpong lasted just six minutes after coming on at the start of the second half before he too left the field with a physical problem, leaving the coaching staff a fresh headache ahead of hosting the Spanish side.
Three points did little to lift the mood. Liverpool turned around Keane Lewis-Potter's opener to win through goals from Victor Munoz and Alexander Isak, but the two injuries cast a shadow over the victory, especially with the team already dealing with other absences before the continental clash.
Speaking after the match, the manager warned about the physical state of his squad, pointing to fixture congestion and a lack of recovery time. "I think our situation is extremely delicate. We played an away game in the Champions League two days ago, we got home late at night, and perhaps we did not have a proper recovery period."
His staff now face a difficult choice: lean on players who have started consecutive matches and are running on empty, or throw in those coming back from injury without being sure they are ready.
On Szoboszlai, he explained: "He felt the same problem, it is not a new injury, and perhaps he had not recovered enough, so we will need more time with him."
Frimpong, meanwhile, had suffered cramp during the last European match before feeling a new muscular problem against Brentford.
Both will be out for some time, the manager confirmed. That leaves their involvement against Villarreal in serious doubt and piles more pressure on the coaching staff before the awaited encounter.
Additional absences deepen Liverpool's predicament
Szoboszlai and Frimpong are only half the problem. Hugo Ekitike, Conor Bradley, Vitezslav Jaros and Giovanni Leoni are all sidelined with various injuries, taking the number of potential absentees to six.
Losing Bradley and Frimpong hits Liverpool hardest at right-back, where the coaching staff will have to find alternatives and reorganise the back line before facing Villarreal. The Spanish side arrive with relatively high morale after beating Napoli in the previous round.