Carabao Cup Final: Ryan Gravenberch off injured after horror challenge from Caicedo

Liverpool’s injury problems were made even worse at Wembley on Sunday in the Carabao Cup final. 

Jurgen Klopp was left fuming as a first-half challenge from Moises Caicedo left Ryan Gravenberch stricken on the turf with an ankle injury. The former Bayern Munich player left the pitch on a stretcher. 

The Dutchman was replaced in the 25th minute by Joe Gomez, with Liverpool’s injury troubles necessitating a full rework of the matchday lineup by the manager. 

Gomez went to right back in place of Conor Bradley, who moved to right wing, where Harvey Elliott was playing. He in turn was called back into midfield to fill the position vacated by Gravenberch. 

The matchday referee, Chris Kavanagh, did not give a free kick for Caicedo’s challenge while there were reports that the VAR identified a “slip” on the part of the Ecuadorian which carried him into the challenge on Gravenberch. 

The 21-year-old has struggled to make his mark during his opening season at Anfield and will be devastated that his first final in his new club’s colours ended prematurely. 

After full-time, Klopp gave an update on the injury - confirming that there hadn't been break, but that ligament damage was likely.

Klopp told Sky Sports: "I hope it's not that bad. They did an X-ray, so it's not broke but the ligaments got something and that's how it is."

Liverpool reeling from injuries

Liverpool were already reeling from the absence of a host of first-team players for the game against the Blues. 

Alisson Becker, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Joel Matip, Thiago Alcantara, Stefan Bajcetic, Dominik Szobaszlai, Curtis Jones, Diogo Jota, Mohamed Salah and Darwin Nunez were among the players ruled out. 

It meant a place on the bench for some of the emerging crop of Liverpool talent including Bobby Clark, James McConnell, Lewis Koumas, Jayden Danns and Trey Nyoni. 

The Reds are facing a crucial run of fixtures before the international break with the side on top of the Premier League and looking to progress into the next stages of the FA Cup and Europa League. 

They look to be heading into that run with an ever-diminishing pool of players.