Bizarre reason for Kostas Tsimikas' omission from Greece squad

The reason why Kostas Tsimikas wasn't included in Greece's match day squad for their 5-0 battering of Gibraltar has been revealed, and (spoiler alert) he's not injured.

After news broke that Liverpool's Greek left-back wasn't included in his nation's squad for their latest international fixture, fans – who were already experiencing a worrying defensive availability crisis – jumped to the conclusion that another injury was soon to be announced.

Despite appearing fit and in good form against the Netherlands earlier that week, Tsimikas was omitted from the squad in Greece's latest 5-0 win, which sparked fears that Liverpool were going to have to play against Wolves with just four fit defenders in the entire first-team squad: Joe Gomez, Joel Matip, Jarell Quansah and Andy Robertson.

However, it seems that Tsimikas is actually fully fit and only missed out on the squad because of an embarrassing administrative error.

Suspension mix-up

As reported by Greek football outlet Hellas Footy, manager Gus Poyet was informed that Tsimikas, alongside teammates Petros Mantalos, Dimitrios Kourbelis and Manolis Siopis, were all ineligible to play due to receiving too many yellow cards.

Each of the quartet had two yellow cards prior to the fixture, but the rules state that a suspension only occurs after three. The mistake is said to be down to the Greek Hellenic Football Federation, who appear to have got their numbers mixed up before Greece's dominant 5-0 win.

This will come as welcomed news to Liverpool fans because, while Tsimikas is not necessarily a first-choice defender for the club, he is a more than capable understudy and his services will be needed in the coming weeks if the Reds' injury problems persist.

The defender has made 62 appearances, and contributed 12 assists in all competitions for Liverpool since joining in 2020 and there are rumours he could be set to agree fresh terms with the club in the coming weeks.