Liverpool suffer defensive injury scare as Konate withdraws from France squad
Liverpool may be left with Virgil van Dijk and Joe Gomez as their only centre-back options after Ibrahima Konate left the France camp.
Ibrahima Konate has withdrawn from France's squad with a thigh injury, dealing Liverpool another defensive scare ahead of their return to Premier League action next week.
Last month, Liverpool lost 18-year-old defender Giovanni Leoni to an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury on his debut against Southampton in the EFL Cup.
That injury, which came a little over a month after Leoni arrived from Parma in a €30m (£26m) deal, left Virgil van Dijk, Joe Gomez and Konate as Liverpool's only fit, senior centre-back options.
Konate then limped out of the Reds' 2-1 defeat to Chelsea prior to the international break, causing Arne Slot to use Ryan Gravenberch as a makeshift centre-back.
And on Saturday, the French Football Federation (FFF) announced Konate had failed to recover from that issue and would not be able to feature in Monday's World Cup qualifier against Iceland.
Konate now faces a race against time to be fit for Liverpool's next game, a Premier League meeting with rivals Manchester United at Anfield on October 19.
Liverpool will also be without first-choice goalkeeper Alisson until November, with Giorgi Mamardashvili making his Premier League debut between the sticks last time out, as they suffered a third straight loss across all competitions.
Marseille's on-loan defender Benjamin Pavard will replace Konate in the France squad, as they look to build on Friday's 3-0 success against Azerbaijan, a game in which Konate was not involved.
