Liverpool's Gini Wijnaldum unlikely to travel to Qatar for Club World Cup, Klopp confirms
Liverpool travel to Qatar for this year's Club World Cup tomorrow but Georginio Wijnaldum, injured in today's game against Watford is unlikely to be part of the group.
Jürgen Klopp confirmed that Georginio Wijnaldum will probably miss Liverpool's bid to win this year's Club World Cup after the Dutch midfielder picked up a hamstring injury against Watford this afternoon. Wijnaldum hobbled off the field after just under an hour of Liverpool's 2-0 victory at Anfield, a cruel blow and the only blot on an otherwise satisfactory afternoon's work for the Premier League leaders.
Wijnaldum joins Liverpool's mounting injury list
Klopp said that injuries are his side's major concern as they look to maintain their lead at the top of the table while negotiating a trip to Qatar during a packed December schedule. "It looks like with each game you lose one player and that's not too cool," Klopp told BT Sport. "That's our main problem. The fixtures are like they are, we know that, but losing players in this type of situation is not cool. We'll deal with it but it makes life not easy."
Asked whether Wijnaldum had a chance of travelling to Qatar with the squad on Sunday, Klopp said: "I have no idea. Today we'll make an assessment and make a decision. If he cannot train and has to do rehab then he'll stay here and that's the more likely scenario at the moment."
Tiredness is never an issue for Liverpool, says Klopp
Despite having to cope without the injured Joel Matip, Dejan Lovren and Fabinho, Klopp dismissed the suggestion that fatigue is currently an issue for Liverpool. The Reds' performance against Watford was at times disjointed and only poor finishing prevented the Hornets from taking a first-half lead.
But Klopp praised his side's response and the performance of goalkeeper Alisson, saying: "The most important thing you have to show in this period of the season is resilience. The boys were ready for a big fight. They had a completely new set-up and did really well. They had their chances. Could the game have been easier for us? Of course, if we keep the ball smarter and move passes around. The boys are not tired but it's intense to be constantly in charge of a game. We have to defend at some moments with passion instead of organisation because that was not always perfect, but when we did let them in Ali was there."