Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has confirmed that Brazilian duo Alisson Becker and Fabinho will miss Liverpool’s Premier League game against Watford on Saturday.
The pair have been on international duty for Brazil since the international break kicked off and are yet to return to the UK on Friday at noon. Fabinho started his side’s 4-1 victory over Uruguay on Thursday, while his club-mate was on the bench.
The chances of either being available in time for the Saturday early kick-off were always low, but Klopp has finally confirmed their absences in his pre-match press conference today on Friday morning.
Fabinho featured for Brazil against Uruguay while Alisson was on the bench. The duo will miss the trip to Watford. | PHOTO: Courtesy |
Instead, the duo will be flying straight to Madrid in preparation for the Reds’ Champions League meeting with Atletico Madrid on Tuesday evening.
“The last game they played in a red list country was Colombia so next Thursday it will be 10 days and then they can fly back [from Madrid to the UK],” he said.
“They could have flown into England but it would have meant they had to isolate from their families.”
Klopp will also likely be without England midfielder Curtis Jones after he picked up an injury while on international duty with England Under-21s. The injury occurred during the Young Lions’ narrow 1-0 win over Andorra – a game that his club manager did not view as a worthwhile use of his time.
He added: “When we talk about federations, Curtis Jones came back from England Under-21s injured. Great! It’s hard to get in touch with them. They played Andorra, really important he played there…”
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp. | PHOTO: Courtesy |
Klopp’s complaints did not stop there either. He also had his say on Newcastle’s controversial Saudi-backed takeover.
“I was waiting for some official statement about it from Richard Masters or someone else as there are obviously concerns over human rights issues. It didn’t happen in the first place,” he said.
“It means there is a new superpower. Money can’t buy everything but over time they have enough money to make some wrong decisions and then make the right decisions. The Premier League obviously thought ‘let’s give it a go’. It’s now the third club owned by a country.”
Liverpool will travel to the new boys Watford in a Saturday early kick-off Premier League clash at the Vicarage Road Stadium. The last time the two sides met was in the 2019/2020 season when Klopp’s side was trying to win the League unbeaten but Watford ended their unbeaten streak with a 3-0 victory at Vicarage Road.
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