Liverpool’s Champions League hopes took a major hit on Tuesday with the news that centre-back Joel Matip will miss the rest of the season.
Matip, who played in Liverpool’s Saturday fixture against Crystal Palace, has been ruled out for the remainder of the season. Matip suffered a thigh injury and will undergo surgery to fix the problem. It has been reported that Matip ruptured his thigh muscle.
Matip has been a key figure for the Reds this term and has featured 31 times in all competitions. It was expected that Matip would be paired with Virgil van Dijk against Manchester City in Wednesday night’s Champions League quarterfinal first leg. Dejan Lovren will now take his place.
Matip joins the re-injured Adam Lallana on the sidelines for the Reds along with defender Joe Gomez. The latter is expected to return just before the end of the season. Lallana’s timeline for a return is currently unknown as the player suffered another muscle injury. Lallana has missed nearly all of the season with a leg injury and could miss the World Cup in the summer. Emre Can is also set to miss out against Manchester City.
Matip joined Liverpool in the summer of 2016 on a free transfer from Schalke. The defender has played 63 times for the Reds in all competitions.
Joel Matip, Adam Lallana and Emre Can are set to miss tomorrow night. Matip out for season with a thigh injury.
— DaveOCKOP (@DaveOCKOP) April 3, 2018
Joel Matip, Adam Lallana out for the rest of the season. Joe Gomez likely to be out for another 3 weeks. Emre Can also injured but will likely recover next week. Not good at this late stage of the season. #LFC
— Zac (@ZAC_AE) April 3, 2018
With Joel Matip now injured for the rest of the season it is time for Lovren to put his words into actions. You want to be a leader, you want to silence your critics, you want to be a top performer at the club. Now is the time to show what you can do Dejan. We are behind you! pic.twitter.com/84IzO4wd9J
— LFC TRANSFERS HQ (@lfctransfershq) April 3, 2018
Joel Matip was spotted wearing a leg brace at Melwood yesterday, in which case, would make him a doubt ahead of Manchester City tomorrow. According to @AnfieldExpress pic.twitter.com/sTj8wmeuLZ
— Anfield Edition (@AnfieldEdition) April 3, 2018
Liverpool fans when they find out that Joel Matip is out for the season and they'll have to rely on Dejan Lovren pic.twitter.com/BEZPfPKbrO
— NOW TV Sport (@NOWTVSport) April 3, 2018
