The attacker was withdrawn at half-time against Tottenham (Picture: Getty Images)
Cody Gakpo is set to be sidelined until after the international break after picking up an injury against Tottenham on Saturday, with Liverpool facing a potential selection crisis against Brighton.
The Merseysiders were beaten 2-1 by Spurs in north London but were reduced to nine men in the contest, with the match overshadowed by a huge VAR error which saw Luis Duiz’s first-half strike incorrectly ruled out.
In addition to both Curtis Jones and Diogo Jota seeing red, Gakpo – who netted just before the half-time break – was forced off at half-time with an injury.
The Dutchman appeared to pull up after striking the ball for Liverpool’s equaliser, though the injury was the result of an earlier challenge from Destiny Udogie when his foot got caught beneath the sliding Spurs defender and he appeared to roll his ankle.
According to reports in the Dutch media, Gakpo’s injury is not a serious one but he will still be sidelined for several weeks.
He will be unavailable for the Netherlands’ upcoming European Championship qualification matches against France and Greece – played on October 13 and October 16 respectively – but should be back in action later this month.
Unfortunately for Liverpool, that means Gakpo will miss Thursday’s Europa League match against Union Saint-Gilloise as well as the away trip to face Brighton on Sunday.
Gakpo looked in serious pain after scoring against Spurs (Picture: Getty)
To compound Jurgen Klopp’s selection issues, the Merseysiders will also be without Jones and Jota who will both be serving suspensions – the former could even face a three-game ban for serious foul play.
Asked about Gakpo following Saturday’s match, Klopp said: ‘The biggest problem of the game, to be honest… before Cody Gakpo scored, we got a free-kick and he got injured and he is now with a brace limping down the corridor.
‘That’s my biggest problem, to be honest, in this moment. We lost two [to red cards] and maybe a third player – really bad, really bad. So, yes, that’s something we have to deal with obviously.’
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Asked if the injury for Gakpo was a bad one, Klopp added: ‘Possibly, I don’t know.
‘He wore a brace. He scored a goal but afterwards, but after that shot he felt it even more. It was from the foul before.’
Jota was a half-time replacement for Gakpo meaning Darwin Nunez is likely to come into the starting XI for the trip to Brighton next weekend, though Klopp will be left with precious few attacking, game-changing options on his bench.
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