International break causes more problems for Liverpool with injury scares | OneFootball

It may be the international break but some injury news has now surfaced as a potential blow in Liverpool’s quest to win the Premier League.

Liverpool have a host of players away on international duty, but one of their most important has returned to Anfield early, with Ryan Gravenberch withdrawing from the Netherlands squad due to injury.

Gravenberch picked up a knock playing for Liverpool in their Carabao Cup final loss to Newcastle at Wembley. Initially, it seemed like the issue wasn’t too serious, with the 22-year-old still being selected for the Netherlands.

However, it looks like this is not the case. The national team revealed that Gravenberch has returned to Liverpool, with the midfielder unable to partake in their two-legged Nations League quarter-final with Spain. The teams drew 2-2 in the first leg at De Kuip on Thursday.

This has now made the central midfielder a doubt for Liverpool’s upcoming games – a situation which would be a huge blow for the Reds.

Stats show how crucial Gravenberch is

Gravenberch has started in all 41 appearances that he has made this campaign, playing 3516 minutes so far. He was in and out of the team during a mixed debut campaign under former manager Jurgen Klopp last season, but has now become a key player for Liverpool as they push for the Premier League title.

With Gravenberch starting so many games for the Reds this season, Arne Slot will not want him to be unavailable for the remaining Premier League fixtures. The only two Liverpool players with more minutes played than Gravenberch are Virgil Van Dijk and Mohamed Salah.

Slot has positioned the 22-year-old in central midfield and he is pulling the strings in both attack and defence. His qualities will be missed if he is not available. The likeliest replacement for Gravenberch, Wataru Endo, has not started a Premier League game this season. There are also some big games on the horizon for Liverpool.

Gravenberch could miss key matches

With Liverpool getting knocked out of the Champions League and losing the Carabao Cup final this month, the only trophy they have left to fight for is the Premier League.

They do still have a 12-point lead at the top. However, the defeats to Paris Saint-Germain and Newcastle were the first time Slot’s side has lost successive games this season. After two flat performances in high-stakes games, there will be some nerves heading into the next few matches. Those nerves will be amplified if key players are missing.

Slot’s side do boast a seemingly unsurmountable lead and Liverpool are as short as 1/50 to win the Premier League. However, those inside Anfield circles will be worrying about how serious Gravenberch’s injury is.

Up next for Liverpool is the Merseyside derby at home to Everton. The Toffees held Slot’s side at Goodison Park last month and are on a nine-game unbeaten run in the Premier League under David Moyes.

Liverpool then travel to European hopefuls Fulham, before playing West Ham and Leicester City. Their final five games of the season see them play Tottenham Hotspur, Chelsea, Arsenal, Brighton and Crystal Palace in a tough run-in.

Every fixture is now huge for the Reds, who need a maximum of 16 points from their final fixtures to be crowned champions for just the second time in the Premier League era.

As they look to get their confidence back, they’ll be hoping the international break does not deal more blows. Already, however, more issues have arose. Alisson Becker sustained a suspected concussion after a sickening clash of heads during Brazil’s win over Colombia. Elsewhere, Ibrahima Konate was substituted during France’s clash with Croatia with a knock.

Slot will be hoping the break is long enough to help his key trio regain their fitness.

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