The managers of Liverpool, Newcastle United and Tottenham Hotspur spoke to the media today ahead of Wednesday’s UEFA Champions League (UCL) last-16 ties.
We’ll round up the key injury updates below.
LIVERPOOL
Ibrahima Konate, an unused substitute against Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday due to hamstring discomfort, should be fit to play.
“Yeah, he is at this moment of time [ready to play]. The day after the game is recovery. If you play so many games with only two days of rest in between, you cannot do a lot, but he is declared completely fit. He doesn’t feel the discomfort anymore.
“So, then he is ready to start and hopefully fulfil 90 minutes or, if needed, even longer. But that’s what we have to find out tomorrow.” – Arne Slot on Ibrahima Konate
Joe Gomez, the man who filled in for Konate against Spurs, is a doubt, however.
“Joe, we will decide that tomorrow. He wasn’t ready to train today. He had too much issues after our last game, although he had these issues already after the Galatasaray game. [He] wasn’t planned to play against Tottenham, but unfortunately, Ibou got discomfort in his hamstring, so we couldn’t take the risk of playing him. That’s why Joe had to play and that has built up so much that now he’s a bit of a doubt for tomorrow. But he’s going to try tomorrow, to see if he is available.” – Arne Slot on Joe Gomez
Alexander Isak (ankle), Stefan Bajcetic (hamstring), Wataru Endo (foot), Conor Bradley (knee) and Giovanni Leoni (knee) remain out.
Isak was training individually and pictured running on Tuesday but won’t be available for Wednesday’s rematch with Galatasaray or Gameweek 31.
“Alex is, like I said, not available for tomorrow but the fact that you see him on the pitch tells you that he gets closer and closer to joining us again.
“No [timeline], not really, but he will not be available for Saturday as well. As long as you don’t train with the team yet, you are not ready to play. And as we all know, if you’ve done, for months, only individual sessions, it’s also quite a step up to train with the team. And when you train with the team, it’s quite a step up to play at Premier League intensity or Champions League intensity.” – Arne Slot on Alexander Isak
NEWCASTLE UNITED
The Magpies will assess Sandro Tonali (illness) before the trip to the Nou Camp after he missed out in Gameweek 30.
“We’ll have a look at him today. Today’s the first day we’ve seen him. An opportunity for, hopefully, him to train, if he feels strong enough. Then, we’ll make a decision tomorrow.” – Eddie Howe on Sandro Tonali
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.
“Lewi’s not with the squad, unfortunately. He’s trained at home today, so we’re probably looking at the other side of the international break for Lewi now. It’s just taking a little bit longer than we hoped.” – Eddie Howe on Lewis Miley
Joe Willock, who seemed to be struggling with his thigh on Saturday, has recovered quickly to make the trip.
“Joe Willock has travelled with us. We’ll have a look at him in training today. Fingers crossed, he’ll be fine.” – Eddie Howe
TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR
Cristian Romero (head) is set to return after he missed out in Gameweek 30.
But Joao Palhinha (head), who he collided with in the reverse fixture against Atletico Madrid, remains out.
Destiny Udogie (hamstring) and Lucas Bergvall (ankle) are available again, however, if only from the bench.
Micky van de Ven is also free to play after his one-match domestic suspension.
“Joao, no, but Destiny and Lucas will be on the bench tomorrow. One part of the game, not too much, because they just started to train with us, but it is good to see them.
“Yeah, [Romero] is there. You saw him in training today? So, he can play. Joao no. Joao is doing worse, so he will be for the next game, but Romero is in.” – Igor Tudor
Wilson Odobert (knee), Ben Davies (ankle), Yves Bissouma (muscle), 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. Richarlison serves a one-match European ban for yellow card accumulation.
And Conor Gallagher, who missed out on Sunday, will be assessed. He’s been hit hard by a virus, which is made worse by his asthma.
“We see today what we can do because he has, as you know, probably asthma problems. He has some virus to make some not nice things, so we are going to see if he is able tomorrow to go on the bench.
“It’s nothing like a danger but still he is not able to play.” – Igor Tudor on Conor Gallagher
Speaking to Spurs’ in-house media team, Tudor later added that Dominic Solanke was also a concern.
“Dom has some small problems, so we’ll see tomorrow how he is.” – Igor Tudor
