Grabenbirch added: “Partly it was a fitness issue. It’s a long season so it was a precautionary measure. I’m feeling good and I have the confidence of my coach.”
It was previously announced that Alisson would be sidelined for several weeks with a hamstring problem, while summer signing Giovanni Leoni suffered a serious knee injury last month. He is expected to miss the remainder of the season.
There are also concerns about Wataru Endo’s fitness after he withdrew from the Japan squad at the last minute due to an undisclosed injury.
Japan national team coach Hajime Moriyasu explained, “I was thinking about whether to invite him until the last minute.It would be a burden for him to come from Europe, so I thought the current number of players was sufficient.”
Liverpool go into the match against United as favorites for the title despite losing their last three games in all competitions.
They lost in dramatic fashion to Crystal Palace, then lost to Galatasaray in the Champions League, before scoring another late winner against Chelsea before the international break.
