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Liverpool defender Joe Gomez is set to be out for a “long time” after suffering a a hamstring injury, but Arne Slot is hoping Cody Gakpo could return soon as both were ruled out of the trip to Aston Villa on Wednesday.
The Premier League leaders enter a crucial week in the title race and Liverpool can go 10 points clear of Arsenal with a victory over Unai Emery’s side.
But Gomez is set to be out of “weeks” in a blow for Slot, after the defender injured his hamstring during Liverpool’s FA Cup defeat to Plymouth, though Gakpo is closer to a return ahead of the trip to Manchester City on Sunday.
“Both are unavailable for tomorrow,” Slot said. “Cody is the close to being back but Joe will take quite a long time. He is going to be out for a number of weeks because of a hamstring injury.
“It’s a big blow for Joe and for us. He tries to do everything to be with the team. He works really hard to come back and then the first game when he came back after two or three minutes we saw him making a sprint and now he is out for weeks again.
“So that’s always very hard for a player in every part of the season, let alone a part of the season everyone is looking forward to.”
Gakpo and Gomez also missed Liverpool’s 2-1 over Wolves on Sunday where the Reds overcame nerves to close out victory despite not having a single shot in the second half at Anfield.
The result, though, ensured Liverpool returned to winning ways after they were held to a late draw at Everton and means Slot’s side can increase their advantage over Arsenal as they play a fixture that was rearranged because of next month’s Carabao Cup final.
Liverpool also face Manchester City at the Etihad on Sunday, where they have not won in the Premier League since 2015, before taking on next month’s Carabao Cup final opponents Newcastle at Anfield next midweek to close out a crucial run of fixtures.
“There’s 13 games to play, and the next one is the most important one,” Slot said. “Villa have a great home record, maybe even more in night games. It’s going to be a challenge but we have quite an okay away record. It’s a game for everyone to look forward to.”
Slot reserved praise for Manchester United’s on-loan forward Marcus Rashford, who is showing signs of finding form despite Aston Villa’s frustrating 1-1 draw with 10-man Ipswich on Saturday. Rashford could be handed his first start of his loan spell against United’s rivals and Slot said he expects to see his quality.
“The first time I faced Rashford in real life was in the USA tour last summer. I was really impressed,” the Liverpool manager said. “He’s a very good player, I hope for him he shows it at Villa but of course, not tomorrow. I would be completely surprised if a player of this quality isn’t going to show it in the upcoming months. He’s a very good player in my opinion.”
