Liverpool’s international break winners and losers: Jurgen Klopp gave an injury scare

While some of Liverpool’s best players were playing for their respective countries, including some who were pitted against one another, Jurgen Klopp did receive some encouraging news, not everything went as planned.

Jurgen Klopp could have smiled wryly to himself if he had watched England play Belgium on Tuesday night.

Forget about John Stones limping off the pitch early in the match against Brazil last Saturday, following Kyle Walker’s lead, the Liverpool manager would have watched as Manchester City’s unorthodox hero ran himself into the ground for the second time in four days. Phil Foden has perhaps gained as much importance under Pep Guardiola this season as Mohamed Salah does under Klopp.

Even if Mikel Arteta’s squad leads the table going into Sunday’s match against Arsenal, Klopp may still believe that Liverpool will win the Premier League if they finish higher than the defending champions. Guardiola must have had a difficult international break, but Klopp will probably be happy with it all.

Yes, Andy Robertson—who missed three months of action due to a shoulder injury sustained while playing for Scotland—suffered another setback in his nation’s unexpected home loss to Northern Ireland, but Liverpool already benefited from Salah and Darwin Nunez being able to take a few days off and relax as they gear up for the Premier League final stretch.

Although Salah did not appear fully prepared for the FA Cup at Old Trafford, he will be eager to play after being exempted from international duty. Darwin Nunez concurs. Diogo Jota, Trent Alexander-Arnold, and Curtis Jones all worked on their recovery during the break, though the latter may be fortunate to return before the season ends.

Although the severity of Robertson’s issue is unknown, Conor Bradley achieved another first in the Scotland vs. Northern Ireland match by scoring his first goal for his country and winning Player of the Match. One of the highlights of Liverpool’s season has been Bradley’s rise, and his goal and performance against the Northern Irish will only help to bolster his self-confidence.

Virgil van Dijk, who had himself had a busy break, sent a congrats message following his performance. The captain of Liverpool, who was not hurt, participated in two complete matches for the Netherlands, winning 4-0 against Scotland and losing 2-1 against Germany.

Due to Stones’ injury, Joe Gomez, Van Dijk’s teammate, played more for England than he may have expected. The defender performed admirably in his two extended substitute appearances for Gareth Southgate’s team. Gomez is having a great time, and it will be beneficial for him to be back in action in England after spending a considerable amount of time abroad.

In Colombia’s 1-0 triumph over Spain and their 3-2 victory over Romania, Luis Diaz also performed admirably on the international scene, but his father made headlines when he implied that the family was hoping to move to Madrid eventually. However, it is still a while off, and for the duration of the club season, Klopp will be pleased that Diaz is healthy and productive.

Like every Premier League manager, Klopp was hoping that Liverpool wouldn’t experience too many injury setbacks during the international matches, and with the exception of Robertson, it seems like that is the case. Additionally, it will have been one of the better breaks for Klopp and Liverpool if it allows Salah to re-engage top gear.