Liverpool duo to miss eight games as Arne Slot gives injury update ahead of West Ham

Liverpool manager Arne slot has confirmed that defensive duo Conor Bradley and Ibrahima Konate will remain out against West Ham United this weekend - taking the pair’s respective absences to eight games each.

Both men picked up injuries as the Reds beat Real Madrid 2-0 in the Champions League at the end of November at Anfield and have not played since. They have missed the last seven matches in all competitions and will both be absent at the London Stadium. The duo are yet to return to team training as they continue their respective recoveries.

Slot said: “They will not be back for West Ham United, but then there is a week in between [before the game against Manchester United] so let’s see how close they are then. It’s difficult for me to tell you at this moment because they don’t train with the group yet, but hopefully in the upcoming days they come closer to that situation. And then again, Ibou has been out then for five or six weeks maybe, Conor just as long I think, the same amount. And also for them, they are in competition with players that are completely fit and doing really well, so I have to make the right judgement the moment they are back with the team.”

Liverpool face suspension blow

Liverpool will also be with midfielder Dominik Szoboszlai after he picked up his fifth yellow card of the season in a 3-1 win over Leicester City on Boxing Day. Slot said he will need others to step up against the Hammers. He noted in his pre-match press conference: “Yeah, that’s what you saw today as well, because I think Dominik Szoboszlai was outstanding against Tottenham Hotspur and the idea and plan was that he should be outstanding against West Ham. But he is not available so someone else should be outstanding against West Ham.

On Liverpool’s away form, he continued: “I think our away form has been good but maybe it has a bit to do with the teams you face in the first half of the season. So, I think mainly we have faced the teams in the top half of the table at home and the other ones we faced away, so that might have something to do with it. We are strong away from home and at home as well. So, I don’t see any reason why we are stronger there than here, [it’s] something we can best judge at the end of the season if we have played every team home and away, to see what fits us best. But I think we are a difficult team to beat away from home as in our home games.”

West Ham star also banned

Hammers midfielder Tomáš Souček is another player suspended for the game after he collected his fifth yellow card of the season in the Boxing Day win over Southampton at St Mary’s Stadium. He has backed his teammates to continue the Irons’ positive form when Liverpool visit on Sunday evening after he played his part in Jarrod Bowen’s winning goal on the south coast.

He said following the 1-0 victory: "It was a perfect action for the goal and I'm happy that I was involved in it as well. I headed back to the middle, [Niclas flicked on] and Jarrod scored an important goal. It's always the first goal that means a lot, and when we keep clinging to that, it's another win. I said four games ago that we will do our maximum to be unbeaten after the New Year, and now it's only Liverpool left, so I hope that we do it. But it's a shame for me I can't play that game because of my yellow card."