While others are away on international duty, Liverpool defender Ibrahima Konate has suggested he is making progress in his comeback from a thigh injury.
In each of Liverpool’s first two Premier League games of the year, Konate played the whole 90 minutes before being ruled out of the team’s subsequent two games against Newcastle and Aston Villa.
Joel Matip and Virgil van Dijk filled in for him while he was out due to a red card against Newcastle. The original one-match suspension was enhanced to a two-match suspension as a result of his protestations at the time. However, van Dijk will still be suspended for the upcoming matches following the international break.
Given that Joe Gomez is the only other central defender on the first-team roster, Konate is under pressure to be totally healthy in order to make up the difference. In fact, Gomez and Matip started together last time out and finished the Newcastle game together. A promotion was also given to Jarell Qansah.
During the break in the international match, Konate was back in France. He initially posted a video of himself running on Instagram Stories, which is a good sign for his fitness, and then he posted a video of himself riding a bike in Paris next to the Eiffel Tower.
If Konate will be available when club football starts on September 16 against Wolves is not yet guaranteed. However, Ryan Gravenberch, who joined the Reds on the final day of the transfer window, is likely to play in that match to help the team’s midfield, which has seen a lot of change recently.
Although Gravenberch didn’t sign in time to be available for the Villa game before the break, the Dutchman made the conscious decision to abstain from playing for his nation to give himself more time to adjust to his new Liverpool surroundings. Ronald Koeman, the manager of the Netherlands, and the other coaches for the national team were quite critical of such choice.
