Ibrahima Konate has returned from international duty due to injury concerns. The player was on the bench for the game against Azerbaijan and will not travel to Iceland. The Liverpool defender arrived at Clairefontaine injured but was unable to recover in time to play for Les Bleus in the World Cup qualifiers. Konate was sent off from the pitch in the Reds’ final Premier League match against Chelsea.
Didier Deschamps’ side are scheduled to fly to Reykjavik on Saturday night ahead of Monday’s match against Iceland. It was decided that Konate would not accompany the team on that journey as he continued his recovery. The former RB Leipzig player followed an individualized treatment plan for his thigh injury. Now, the question is whether he will be fit for next weekend’s match between Liverpool and Manchester United.
Early in the second half of Liverpool’s loss to Chelsea, the Frenchman went straight down the tunnel, leaving Arne Slott short of a central defender. Curtis Jones replaced the 26-year-old, while Ryan Gravenbirch joined Virgil van Dijk in the backline.
Slott had been alarmed by the knocks, but was hopeful that Konate could have been substituted quickly to avoid any serious problems.
“I don’t know if it’s a major injury, but what I do know is that he was limping a little bit. When I asked him, he said he felt a little sensation in his quadriceps,” the Dutchman said. “That’s when all the alarm bells go off for me, because I don’t know if it’s going to be good in the next sprint.
“Also, maybe a few minutes later, that was already a substitution plan that I had in mind, because the right centre-back had a lot of possession and we had to create from that position. We all know that Ryan (Graben-Birch) is very good in that respect.”
“It might be OK for him to leave early, but it was obvious that I had to take him off because he was limping.”
Konate was considered fit enough to join the national team, but it appears he continues to struggle with the same issues.
Joe Gomez is still a possibility as a substitute, but was not selected on the substitute bench against Chelsea after returning from injury.
