Liverpool: Ibrahima Konate Injury Update

Liverpool centre-back Ibrahima Konate missed his side’s 3-0 victory at home to Aston Villa on Sunday afternoon, but a key update has now emerged regarding his fitness.

Is Ibrahima Konate playing for France this week?

The Reds cruised to a win against Unai Emery’s side in the Premier League, meaning they have picked up ten points from a possible 12 so far this season. That represents a great start to the campaign, considering they have already made trips to Chelsea and Newcastle United, as well as hosting a highly-rated Villa team.

Liverpool had to beat the Villans without Konate and Virgil van Djik available on Sunday, with the former still injured and the latter suspended after his red card at St James’ Park. In fairness, Joel Matip and Joe Gomez did admirably filling in, though, despite worries about them after poor seasons last time around.

Konate has become a hugely important player for the Reds, turning into Van Dijk’s undisputed first-choice centre-back partner, but injuries are slightly problematic for him, with a number of issues picked up in recent years. The hope is that his current problem is only a minor one, however, and that he will be back in the fold after the international break.

He was then called up for France’s squad for their September matches, arguably in surprise fashion, but a new update has revealed a twist in the situation.

What’s the latest on Ibrahima Konate’s fitness?

According to The Liverpool Echo, Konate has now been withdrawn from international duty with Les Bleus:

“The French Football Federation have announced their decision to replace Ibrahima Konate in the nation’s squad for the upcoming international break. The 24-year-old was first mentioned as a doubt for Liverpool’s away trip to Newcastle a week ago today, and was eventually not included in Jurgen Klopp’s squad for the match.”

This could actually be good news from a Liverpool perspective, in terms of France not taking any risks with Konate, aassuming it doesn’t mean the injury is worse than first thought.

The fact that the Frenchman hasn’t been deemed fit enough to play for his country does suggest that a return to the Reds’ starting lineup could still be a little while away, but there is nearly two weeks for him to fully recover before the trip to Wolves on September 16th.

While Matip and Gomez deserve huge praise for the manner in which they stepped up to the plate against Villa on Sunday, Konate and Van Dijk are still massive upgrades on the pair, and if they can both come back in for the foreseeable future, Jurgen Klopp‘s men could become a real force.

Liverpool looked fantastic in their weekend victory, possessing so much more energy in midfield and pressing relentlessly in attack, and having the pace and power of Konate back in that right-sided centre-back area can only help the Reds moving forward.

The injuries are a concern, and he needs to stop having so many spells on the sidelines, but he can be the leader of the back-line after Van Dijk, having been hailed as “wonderful” by Phil Thompson.