Liverpool star who’s started every PL game this season withdraws from int’l duty before United clash

Arne Slot may be without one of his most trusted lieutenants for the visit of Manchester United next Sunday.

Indeed, the Liverpool boss has been left sweating over the condition of Ibrahima Konate since he initially suffered a setback in the second half of their defeat to Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.

(Photo by Carl Recine/Getty Images)

The defender was taken off in the 56th minute, with Slot clarifying post-match that he had no choice but to pull Konate from the action as he could see his player ‘limping’.

However, he hoped that the substitution had happened in time for it not to worsen, and the Frenchman subsequently joined up with Didier Deschamps’ squad to start his international duty.

France were also keen to avoid any further complications for Konate , so he partook in a light training session in the build-up to Les Bleus’ clash with Azerbaijan yesterday, during which he was an unused substitute.

Konate has now returned to Merseyside and will presumably undergo further assessments to determine the severity of his quad issue.

The 26-year-old has started every Premier League fixture thus far as well as both of Liverpool’s opening two Champions League matches, meaning he has been directly on the receiving end of the side’s three consecutive defeats.

As well as Konate, there’s a chance Alexis Mac Allister could be ruled out of the heavyweight contest due to a scheduling issue with Argentina; they were supposed to play Puerto Rico in a friendly on Monday in Chicago until it was moved to Tuesday night in Miami.

Mac Allister mightn’t return to the city to begin his pre-United preparations until Thursday, giving him considerably less time than the rest of his teammates to get to grips with the game plan.