Alisson, Szoboszlai and Jota make up a ridiculous full XI of injured Liverpool players

Liverpool are still in the hunt for four trophies this season – but their mounting injury woes are proving to be a serious challenge.

Jurgen Klopp was already without a number of important first-team players for yesterday’s trip to Brentford. His injury headache turned into a migraine as the afternoon wore on and three more of his key men were forced off.

The extent of Liverpool’s injury crisis is now so bad that we’ve managed to cobble together an entire team of players that are currently unavailable.

GK: Alisson

The Brazilian missed Liverpool’s win over Burnley with flu and then a minor hamstring setback kept him out against Brentford.

While it’s not thought that Alisson’s injury is serious, a return date is unknown. Fortunately for Liverpool, back-up ‘keeper Caoimhin Kelleher has barely put a foot wrong when brought in for the recent victories.

It’s already been confirmed that Kelleher, who was the shootout hero when Liverpool beat Chelsea on penalties two years ago, will get the nod for the upcoming Wembley rematch.

RB: Trent Alexander-Arnold

Another that was out and then back briefly before suffering a recurrence, a knee injury kept Alexander-Arnold sidelined for the trip to Brentford.

It’s not thought to be a long-term issue, but it’s been confirmed that he’ll be out for at least another week and unavailable for the Carabao Cup final.

Fortunately for the Reds, Conor Bradley has emerged and is absolutely brilliant.

CB: Joel Matip

The long-serving Cameroonian did his anterior cruciate ligament against Fulham back in December and it’s looking very unlikely that he returns to play any role in the run-in.

That means that Matip has likely played his final match for the club. He’s out of contract in the summer and not expected to extend his stay.

QUIZ: Can you name every African player to represent Liverpool in the Premier League?

CB: Rhys Williams

One area that Liverpool can’t complain too much is in the centre of defence.

First-choice duo Virgil van Dijk and Ibrahima Konate are fit and available, the versatile Joe Gomez is enjoying his best campaign in years and young Jarell Quansah has broken through as a genuinely dependable option.

So Williams was incredibly unlikely to have got any minutes – and was sent out on loan to Port Vale last month. However, Liverpool recalled him two weeks later and he’s back on Merseyside undertaking rehabilitation.

LB: Stefan Bajcetic

Gomez spent a good while deputising at left-back while Andrew Robertson and Kostas Tsimikas spent time in the treatment room, but both players are now back… for now.

We had to get creative somewhere to make this a full XI, and in true Jurgen Klopp injury crisis spirit we’ve stuck a midfielder in to cover full-back. We’re well aware that Bajcetic isn’t actually a left-back, so please don’t shout at us.

The teenager was a real bright spark in his breakthrough year, Liverpool’s otherwise miserable 2022-23 campaign. But he suffered an adductor last March and has suffered a series of setbacks that have resulted in him missing almost the entirety of this season so far.

Bajcetic made two cup cameo appearances back in September but has been out of action ever since. There’s no timeframe on his recovery and it remains to be seen whether he’ll have any role to play in the run-in.

CM: Curtis Jones

“Curtis got a knock on the lower part of his shin, or above the ankle,” explained Klopp after Liverpool’s homegrown midfielder was forced off in the first half at Brentford.

“We will see what that means. It was what he felt, but he was not 100 per cent sure. That Curtis cannot play on tells you that it must be something because he would have played on at all costs.”

Jones has grown into a key cog in Liverpool’s new-look midfield. Watch this space.

CM: Thiago Alcantara

After what felt like forever, Thiago was finally back on the pitch, with a late substitute cameo in Liverpool’s 3-1 defeat at Arsenal.

The experienced Spaniard then suffered another setback, with a fresh hamstring injury, and looks to be out for the foreseeable future. Klopp has said he’s hopeful that Thiago will have a role yet to play, but like Matip he’s out of contract in the summer and might conceivably have played his last match for the club.

Thiago has missed more matches through injury than he’s played since signing for Liverpool in 2020. Surprisingly enough, he doesn’t feature on this list:

READ: The 10 most injury-prone players in football history: Wilshere, Diaby, Ronaldo…

CM: Dominik Szoboszlai

The fan-favourite midfielder has looked a quality addition to Liverpool’s midfield and was badly missed in the costly loss at the Emirates – the first of three matches that Szoboszlai has missed due to a hamstring problem.

It’s been suggested that he’ll be back sooner rather than later. The Carabao Cup final is a possibility.

FWR: Diogo Jota

“Diogo looks probably the worst; I didn’t see it back but I heard the pictures didn’t look great as well, so we have to see there,” said Klopp after Jota was stretchered off at Brentford.

The Portuguese deputised for Salah superbly while the Egyptian was away at the Africa Cup of Nations (and subsequently injured). Jota has notched five goals and four assists in 10 appearances in 2024, but it looks as though Liverpool will have to make do without him for the foreseeable future.

ST: Darwin Nunez

The third player that was forced off against Brentford, Darwin did not reappear for the second half, having put Liverpool ahead with a delightfully cheeky chip beforehand.

“Darwin, we took off because he felt really a little but that was obviously today enough to immediately push the brake and that’s what we did,” explained Klopp.

Hopefully just a precaution and back soon enough. Darwin is pure box office and the kind of player you want to see starting cup finals.

This angle of Darwin Nunez's finish in the first half 🤩 pic.twitter.com/WyKpEBBtDF

— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) February 17, 2024

FWL: Ben Doak

We had great hope that Doak was set to catch fire this season. He did get some minutes in Liverpool’s opening match at Chelsea, and further opportunities in the Europa League group stage, but he’s been unavailable for the vast majority of the campaign.

Liverpool’s ‘Scottish Messi’ has recently undergone surgery on a knee injury. He’s not expected to play again this season.

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TRY A QUIZ: Can you name every player Jurgen Klopp has signed for Liverpool?