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Liverpool are without Curtis Jones for the visit of Brentford on Sunday, with the midfielder becoming the first player ruled out of contention for Arne Slot.
The Reds are back at Anfield for their first home game of the season, with Brentford the visitors for a 4.30pm kickoff.
With the teamsheet announced 75 minutes before kickoff, it was confirmed that Slot had opted for Ibrahima Konate over Jarell Quansah in defence as his only change.
But after concerns over both Quansah and Ryan Gravenberch in the buildup, it was Jones who was instead left out of the squad.
That comes after a suspected groin injury picked up in the training on Friday, with the Mail‘s Lewis Steele describing it as a “minor tweak.”
“He picked up a little injury during the week and missed a couple of sessions, so will not be available to play,” Slot explained pre-match.
Joe Gomez has rejoined the squad in place of Jones, with the No. 2 having missed the 2-0 win over Ipswich last weekend amid talks over his future.
Jones’ absence is the first of Slot’s competitive reign, though it is in fact the second injury the midfielder has suffered himself already this term.
However, the concern picked up on the pre-season tour of the United States did not see the 23-year-old miss any of Liverpool’s warmup friendlies.
Last season saw Jones sit out of 13 games for his club due to three separate injuries, with his minutes limited in a campaign that saw him feature 36 times.
There had been speculation that Stefan Bajcetic would join the squad for Sunday, but with at least seven clubs interested in a loan deal the Spaniard remains out.
Trey Nyoni started and scored for Liverpool U21s on Saturday, while fellow midfielders Tyler Morton and James McConnell continue to sit out ahead of proposed transfers.
Jones’ injury leaves Slot with only five fit senior midfielders: Gravenberch, Alexis Mac Allister, Dominik Szoboszlai, Harvey Elliott and the out-of-favour Wataru Endo.
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