Federico Chiesa was forced to withdraw from Liverpool’s matchday squad just minutes before kick-off against Marseille on Wednesday evening
Federico Chiesa was forced to withdraw from Liverpool’s matchday squad just minutes before kick-off against Marseille on Wednesday evening after suffering an injury during the pre-match warm-up at the Orange Velodrome.
The Italian winger had been included among the substitutes for the Champions League clash but was unable to participate in the 3-0 victory after the setback forced his withdrawal.
Speaking post-match, Arne Slot revealed that Chiesa’s injury actually originated during Tuesday’s training session at the stadium, rather than immediately before the match.
“Two or three minutes after you guys left yesterday, he stepped out of the training session,” Slot explained. “We took him with us because we don’t expect it to be a long-term injury. We thought it was good for him to have his treatment over here and we were hoping he would have been fit in time. But he wasn’t”.
The Liverpool manager confirmed Chiesa attempted to participate in the pre-match warm-up but felt the issue return. “He tried in the warm-up and he wasn’t able to play. That’s why he wasn’t on the bench”.
The 28-year-old has made just four Premier League starts this season, limiting his involvement to substitute appearances for the majority of the campaign. Chiesa’s absence comes as Liverpool continue to manage an injury list including Alexander Isak, Conor Bradley, and Giovanni Leoni.
But Arne Slot has now provided a further update on Chiesa, saying in his pre-Bournemouth press conference:
“As I said, Federico wasn’t able to be on the bench on Wednesday, there was a recovery session yesterday… so we have to wait and see.”
“Difficult for me to say whether he’s available for Bournemouth. 50/50 whether he’s available.”
“Nobody picked up a knock or problem after the game so I expect all same players to be available and Calvin Ramsay is available after not being available for CL.”
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