‘Thank God’ ‘Absolutely Has To Play’ – Supporters Pleased As Klopp Reveals Huge Injury Boost Ahead Of Brighton Game

‘Thank God’ ‘Absolutely Has To Play’ – Supporters Pleased As Klopp Reveals Huge Injury Boost Ahead Of Brighton Game

Liverpool defender Joel Matip could be fit for this afternoon’s game against Brighton, according to Jurgen Klopp.

The Cameroon international has been sidelined since he broke his collarbone in the closing minutes of the Reds’ 1-0 win over Napoli in mid-December.

Matip wasn’t expected to be ready to face the Seagulls, but speaking in his pre-match press conference yesterday, Klopp confirmed that the 27-year-old had trained on Thursday:

“Joel trained for the first time yesterday with the team. That is really good but we have to see. We have to take it day-by-day and see how he is doing but that is good for us of course.”

Fans on Twitter were delighted to hear the centre-back could be in contention to play:

It would be a risk to play Matip just a few days after returning to training, but Klopp may have no choice with Dejan Lovren out with a hamstring injury, and Joe Gomez still recovering from a fractured leg.

The Reds could, however, turn to Fabinho if Matip is not ready to start against Brighton. The Brazilian played the full 90 minutes against Wolves as a centre-half in the 2-1 defeat on Monday night.

David Tully

David Tully

David has worked as a football reporter for the last fifteen years. Having started as an intern at Snack Media, he then went on to become a freelancer, working on various different sites. At the start of 2023, he took up his current role as content writer for National World's Football News Network.