The Reds boss has confirmed to reporters yet another serious injury setback to his defense.
Jurgen Klopp has announced Joel Matip will miss the rest of Liverpool’s season with an ankle ligament injury.
The Cameroonian center-back suffered his injury in the club’s 3-1 win over Tottenham on Thursday. It occurred from a challenge on Son Heung-min in the first half, forcing Klopp to replace him with Nathaniel Phillips.
Matip, who has suffered injury and fitness issues all season, missed last weekend’s 3-1 triumph at West Ham and will now be unavailable for the rest of the 2020/21 campaign.
“Unfortunately, we found out now after everybody looked at it that Joel will be out for the rest of the season,” Klopp told the club’s website.
“But he will be ready for the start of the next pre-season and finally everything will be sorted.”
Matip’s injury setback explains why Liverpool dug deep to sign two new center-backs before the winter transfer window shut on Monday.
The Premier League champions signed Ben Davies from Championship side Preston in a reported £1.6m (€1.8m) deal. Ozan Kabak, meanwhile, has also arrived on loan from Bundesliga club Schalke, with an £18m (€20m) buy option included.
The duo’s arrival will be a welcome boost for Liverpool, having already lost first-choice center-backs Virgil van Dijk and Joe Gomez to long-term injuries.
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