Arne Slot is facing a minor injury crisis at Liverpool ahead of the Premier League clash against Newcastle United.
Conor Bradley has been absent from the matchday squad for the first competitive fixtures of the campaign, whereas Joe Gomez is still not fully match fit.
Frimpong has impressed his Liverpool teammates since arriving from Bayer Leverkusen at the beginning of the summer and has some big boots to fill as he succeeds Trent Alexander-Arnold at Anfield.
The opening Premier League match against Bournemouth emphasised the importance of the full-backs in Slot’s system, as when he substituted both his starting full-backs, the visitors quickly overturned the two-goal deficit.
Jeremie Frimpong in action for Liverpool
Photo by Carl Recine/Getty Images
As previously revealed, Slot substituted Frimpong just before the 60th minute in the match due to concerns regarding his fitness, and now the Liverpool boss has revealed the extent of the defender’s injury.
Jeremie Frimpong injury timeline revealed
When speaking at the pre-match press conference ahead of the trip to St James’ Park, Slot confirmed he will travel to the North East without Frimpong.
“The medical team was completely right about Jeremie to take him off because he’s out until the end of the international break. We felt Jeremie had an issue in his hamstring – the medical team did. They were right. A good call from them, as otherwise he could have been out for even longer.”
Frimpong blew away Ally McCoist in the Community Shield loss against Crystal Palace after he opened his Liverpool account on the day.
The 24-year-old arrived at Anfield with the understanding that he would compete with Bradley for a starting berth and began the season unopposed in the right-back spot.
Furthermore, Wayne Rooney predicts Frimpong will be Liverpool’s most important signing come May, putting the full-back above Florian Wirtz and Hugo Ekitike in his estimations.
Paul Merson, on the other hand, believes Frimpong will be a problem for Mohamed Salah as his lack of technical ability in comparison to Trent will leave the Egyptian short-changed on the right flank.
Liverpool will miss Jeremie Frimpong
The Dutchman has sustained an injury at arguably the worst possible time for the Reds, who will face Newcastle and Arsenal in his absence.
Indeed, Gomez is more than capable of performing a job at right-back, but the Englishman is always a walking question mark due to his torrid injury record.
Wataru Endo replaced Frimpong at Anfield last time out, but in the face of elite-level opposition, he looks like a duck out of water playing outside of his preferred position.
Slot is facing his first major selection dilemma of the 2025/26 campaign, but it raises questions about Liverpool’s recruitment policy, given that nearly £300 million has been spent this summer, and the squad depth already appears thin.