Liverpool looked rather shaky during their 4-2 win over Bournemouth on Friday evening.
The Reds managed to kick off their Premier League campaign with a win at Anfield even though they were miles off the pace.
Much like the Community Shield, there were glimpses of quality from Arne Slot’s men, but for the vast majority of the game against the Cherries, they performed extremely poorly.
Liverpools FC head coach Arne Slot talks to media at the post match press conference after AC Milan takes the victory against Liverpool FC at the Liverpool FC v AC Milan Pre-Season Friendly match at Kai Tak Stadium
Photo by Yu Chun Christopher Wong/Eurasia Sport Images/Getty Images
And now, to make things worse, it seems like one of Liverpool’s better players on the night may have suffered an injury.
Arne Slot confirms Jeremie Frimpong “felt his hamstring”
Jeremie Frimpong’s arrival at Liverpool was one of the first additions that Slot and Richard Hughes made this summer.
Indeed, the arrival of others such as Hugo Ekitike and Florian Wirtz have overshadowed the Dutchman’s transfer, but on the pitch, the former Bayer Leverkusen man has been one of the Reds’ best players.
And, while speaking to Sky Sports after the game, Slot confirmed that Frimpong was actually forced off the pitch, rather than chosen to be taken off.
“Jeremie Frimpong felt his hamstring at half- time. He was doing quite well, but the other right-back Conor Bradley is already injured with a hamstring, so you don’t want to take the risk of another full-back,” he said.
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“Gomez only had two sessions, so he wasn’t able to play half an hour, so we played Wata.”
Liverpool can’t afford to lose Jeremie Frimpong at the moment
Even though Joe Gomez has now returned from injury, the absence of Frimpong would be a lot for the Anfield outfit to take on at the moment.
While on the pitch, the defender has constantly made runs up and down the pitch with players such as Mohamed Salah and even Ibrahima Konate clearly benefitting from a player who often tracks back.
Even though the Dutchman isn’t the strongest of defenders within Liverpool’s first-team squad, the sheer pace that he has makes him one of the most important cogs in Slot’s starting XI.
Jeremie Frimpong of Liverpool during the pre-season friendly match between Liverpool v Athletic Club Bilbao at Anfield
Photo by Robbie Jay Barratt – AMA/Getty Images
As with every team, Liverpool will want to have all of their players at their disposal as often as possible.
But the fact that this injury has occurred as early into the season as it has may cause Slot’s men an awful lot more problems than they think.