The Liverpool defenders confirmed OUT of Leicester City clash

Liverpool have endured some tough times already this season when it comes to injuries.

At various times this term, head coach Arne Slot has been without the likes of Alisson Becker, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Kostas Tsimikas, Alexis Mac Allister, Harvey Elliott and Diogo Jota due to injury.

READ MORE: Liverpool signed the NEXT Steven Gerrard and Roberto Firmino for just £60m

Amid an intense fixture schedule, the Dutchman has had to patch his team up, leading to opportunities in and around the first team for youth prospects like Trey Nyoni and Tyler Morton.

But mercifully the injury backlog has cleared in recent weeks with Liverpool often able to call on most of their first-choice stars.

That said, Slot still has certain difficulties in the defensive areas. Alexander-Arnold missed two weeks back in November after sustaining a hamstring injury and his place in the lineup went to Conor Bradley. However, just as the England international was recovering from injury, Bradley was struck down with a hamstring blow of his own.

That came during the memorable Champions League win against Real Madrid at Anfield, meaning Alexander-Arnold was thrust straight back in the thick of the action.

Bradley and Konate STILL out

It’s been difficult for Slot to ease the burden on the 26-year-old since then with the likes of Joe Gomez, Jarell Quansah and Morton all featuring in his absence.

It’s an intense period of fixtures for the Reds, who face five matches in a little over two weeks between the middle and end of December.

And not only will they be without Bradley for the Boxing Day fixture against Leicester City, fellow defender Ibrahima Konate is also still out.

Like the Northern Irishman, Konate was injured during the closing stages of the Madrid win with Endrick appearing to target the France defender with some erratic challenges. It’s since been confirmed that Konate would be missing due to an unfortunate knee injury meaning Gomez and Quansah have been drafted into the lineup by Slot in his absence.

“These are the two that are still 'in the red'... they are on their way back, but they don’t [fully] train with the team yet. Sometimes, they join, and then they are not completely ready to start yet. So, let’s wait and see,” Slot told the media last week.

It is likely that Konate and Bradley will be absent into the new year, missing matches against Leicester and West Ham before potentially coming back into contention for the game against Manchester United in early January.

There will be no let-up in the Reds’ schedule in the early part of 2025 and Slot will need as much help as they can get.

EXCLUSIVE: Liverpool all in on SENSATIONAL €60m Spanish midfielder