Ibrahima Konate missed the Champions League midweek win against Marseille due to the passing of his father.
Liverpool extended their unbeaten run with a dominant 3-0 win at Marseille in the Champions League on Wednesday, keeping them in strong contention for direct qualification to the last 16. The Reds have now gone 13 games without defeat in all competitions.
Arne Slot’s side will look to improve their Premier League form when they face Bournemouth on Saturday. Slot suggested that Ibrahima Konate, who missed the Marseille game following the death of his father Hamady, is unlikely to feature, with the match coming just a day after the funeral.
Hamady’s funeral is set for Friday in Aulnay-sous-Bois, on the outskirts of Paris, and Konate will be given the time he needs to grieve following his personal loss. Joe Gomez started alongside Virgil van Dijk in Liverpool’s 3-0 midweek win in Konate’s absence and is expected to do so again on Saturday.
His performance earned praise from both Slot and Van Dijk, marking only his second start alongside the club captain this season. Liverpool’s coaching and medical staff will, however, remain cautious, as Gomez last suffered a hamstring injury when starting consecutive games against Brighton.
Conor Bradley, Alexander Isak, and Giovanni Leoni remain long-term absentees. Slot said: “I spoke to [Konate] a few times. I think these are private matters and they should stay between us. It’s very obvious that if something like that happens, a player needs time to be there for his family and also time for himself.”
“For the rest, at this moment in time, no-one picked up a knock, no-one had a problem after the game, but sometimes when you start training again you can feel something.”
After the trip to Bournemouth, Liverpool will host Qarabag in their final Champions League group stage game on Wednesday. It is unclear whether Konate will be available, but the club has confirmed they will not rush his return.
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