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Ibrahima Konate suffers hamstring injury as Liverpool are dealt another blow

  /  autty

Ibrahima Konate has dealt Liverpool another major blow after suffering a hamstring injury that will rule him out of a crucial chunk of the season.

The France international was hurt during Sunday’s 2-1 defeat to Brighton, which saw the holders knocked out of the FA Cup, and is now going to be sidelined for a sequence of fixtures that will shape Liverpool’s season.

Konate, whose pace is a major asset in Liverpool’s team, is expected to miss Premier League games against Wolves this Saturday and the Merseyside Derby on February 13, which is then followed by the trip to face Newcastle at St James’s Park on February 18.

Such is the nature of the injury, it even puts a question over his possibility of facing Real Madrid though it is too early to say for definite whether he will be available for the first leg of the Champions League last 16 tie.

In a season of constant headaches, this is another issue that Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp could have done without – he has been forced to do without a number of key men at key times and continues to be without Virgil van Dijk, Luis Diaz, Roberto Firmino and Diogo Jota.

Van Dijk suffered hamstring damage in a 3-1 defeat at Brentford on January 2 and there is no indication whether he will be ready for the clash with Madrid at Anfield, when Liverpool look to avenge the defeat they suffered in last year’s final in Paris.

The setback could not have come at a worse time for Konate, either. He missed the start of the campaign after being hurt in pre-season and did not make his first appearance until October 9 at Arsenal.

To cover absences, Liverpool recalled Rhys Williams from a loan at Blackpool earlier this month. There has been interest in Nat Phillips from around Europe but Liverpool may be forced to think twice about letting him leave after this development.

Related: LiverpoolKonate