Arne Slot has revealed Joe Gomez has recently been struggling with a knee injury which impacted his ability to play against Nottingham Forest last weekend.
The defender was an unused substitute at Anfield on Saturday despite Liverpool lacking a natural option at right-back. It meant Slot started with Dominik Szoboszlai in the back four, despite Gomez being a more natural selection.
Explaining that decision, the Liverpool head coach said that Gomez has struggled with a knee injury of late which resulted in him receiving treatment last week.
"He was one of the five defenders we have," said Slot. "Normally I wouldn’t go into the details but he had an injection on his knee last week.
"Apart from me making the decision to play Dom in that role, it is to do with him not boing completely fit. He is in the group for tomorrow but could not train."
The decision to start Szoboszlai at right-back drew some criticism, especially given his impressive form in midfield.
Gomez has only started two matches this season, both of which came in the Carabao Cup.
He has struggled with injuries in recent years, and has not started a league match so far this calendar year.
With Conor Bradley, Jeremie Frimpong and Giovanni Leoni currently absent through injury, Slot is expected to turn to Gomez in the coming weeks during a intense period of the campaign.
He could start in Wednesday's Champions League encounter against PSV Eindhoven.