Ahead of Tuesday’s UEFA Champions League (UCL) last-16 ties, we heard from the managers of Liverpool, Newcastle United and Tottenham Hotspur.
We’ll round up the key injury updates below.
LIVERPOOL
One notable absentee from the 21-man squad heading to Istanbul to face Galatasaray was goalkeeper Alisson Becker.
The Brazilian trained on Monday, pre-flight, but felt some discomfort near the session’s end.
“Ali, of course, was in the session – as many people could see – but unfortunately, he felt something towards the end of the session.
“And it was, how do you say this… people looked at it and we decided and he decided together that it wasn’t good enough to play tomorrow. And then it’s of no use travelling.
“There’s definitely a chance [he’ll be back on Sunday], yeah, because we don’t expect it to be a big thing, but it was too much [for him] to be available for tomorrow.” – Arne Slot on Alisson
Federico Chiesa (illness) also stayed at home.
“Federico was also out of the session. He felt unwell last night, so that’s why he wasn’t training with us today and not travelling with us.” – Arne Slot on Federico Chiesa
Alexander Isak (ankle), Stefan Bajcetic (hamstring), Wataru Endo (foot), Conor Bradley (knee) and Giovanni Leoni (knee) remain out.
NEWCASTLE UNITED
After some slight concern over Anthony Gordon (ankle), Joelinton (load management) and Jacob Murphy (neck) in the FA Cup fifth-round defeat to Manchester City, all three took part in training on Monday.
A small outbreak of illness isn’t causing too much concern, either.
“I think no fresh injuries. We’ve got a little bit of illness again in the camp. It’s been sort of hanging around in recent days. We’ll have a player go down, but they’re recovering quite quickly. So, I anticipate, fingers crossed, we won’t lose anybody.” – Eddie Howe
The Barcelona match comes too soon for Lewis Miley (thigh), while Fabian Schar (ankle), Bruno Guimaraes (hamstring) and Emil Krafth (knee) are out longer term.
Tino Livramento made his return from a hamstring injury as a substitute on Saturday but it still might be too soon for a start for the full-back.
“He probably hasn’t done enough training for me to feel 100% confident that he’s in that best physical moment, especially for such a big game, to start.
“But he’s in our squad, and anyone who’s in that position obviously is in contention to play. It’s a delicate balance with Tino at the moment.
“He trained again this morning and he trained again on Friday and is in good spirits. He’s in a good place. He’s a massive player for us; it’s great to have him back. Obviously, I’ve got to try and get the team selection right.” – Eddie Howe on Tino Livramento
TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR
Neither Djed Spence (calf) nor Radu Dragusin (minor injury) were involved in Gameweek 29 but Spurs’ defensive duo were back in training ahead of the trip to Atletico Madrid.
Cristian Romero is also now available after a four-game domestic ban.
And while Micky van de Ven will be suspended in Gameweek 30, he’s free to play in Europe in midweek.
As for injuries, Wilson Odobert (knee), Destiny Udogie (hamstring), Lucas Bergvall (ankle), Ben Davies (ankle), Rodrigo Bentancur (hamstring), Mohammed Kudus (thigh), James Maddison (knee) and Dejan Kulusevski (knee) remain out.
Yves Bissouma and Souza are ineligible for the Champions League, too.
“We are happy that Romero is back, Djed is back, Bissouma is not and Souza, because of the rules of the Champions League. So, the players are coming back, that’s important, [because] it’s the first time that I’m here and we’ll have, let’s say, available the players to play in defence, the players who usually play.” – Igor Tudor
Igor Tudor also confirmed that Richarlison will start on Tuesday.
