After missing the majority of last season, the two center-backs now risk missing the start of the new campaign.
In his latest injury update on Virgil van Dijk and Joe Gomez, Jurgen Klopp insists he will refrain from taking any risk on the fitness of the two players.
Van Dijk’s season came to an early end when, after facing a rash challenge from Everton goalkeeper Jordan Pickford, he suffered a serious knee injury in the Merseyside derby in October last year.
Gomez, meanwhile, also picked up a knee problem while away on international duty with England not too long after his defensive partner’s setback.
The two defenders watched on as Liverpool edged out Mainz in a pre-season warm-up fixture on Friday.
A match against Hertha Berlin now awaits for the Reds on Thursday.
Asked in his post-match interview if the two center-backs could return for Liverpool’s next friendly, Klopp responded: “It would still be a surprise, unfortunately.
“But they look really good. Look, I think, they do everything, they play football, we keep them in training, we do the things we can do, they don’t too much and stuff like this.
“We just have to be patient – we prepare for a full season, not for a pre-season game. I will not risk it for a game here, so we have to see.
“We have a lot of games still coming, pre-season games, but I don’t see them being involved for the next one.”
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