Joel Matip & Thiago to Miss Ajax Clash as Liverpool Call Up Academy Products

Liverpool look set to be without defender Joël Matip and midfielder Thiago Alcántara for Wednesday's Champions League tie with Ajax after both players missed training on Tuesday.

Matip played the full 90 minutes but was spotted heading to hospital on Monday after complaining of a muscular injury, while Thiago was injured late on after a nasty challenge from Richarlison which earned the Brazilian his marching orders.

Thiago was injured late on | Catherine Ivill/Getty Images

There has been no official word from Liverpool about the severity of either injury, but as noted by James Pearce, both were left out of training on Tuesday and now look certain to miss out on Wednesday.

While losing Thiago is bad, Jürgen Klopp has more than enough options to cope, but the same cannot be said for Matip. With Virgil van Dijk ruled out for the foreseeable future, Joe Gomez is currently the Reds' only senior centre-back.

Klopp is now expected to deploy midfielder Fabinho as a centre-back. The 26-year-old has impressed whenever he has been needed in defence and could be set for a lengthy run in the position if Matip's injury is a bad one.

Academy defenders Nat Phillips and Rhys Wiliams are both set to travel to Amsterdam with the senior squad to offer some much-needed cover.

23-year-old Phillips spent last season in Germany's second tier with Stuttgart, while Williams spent the first half of the campaign in the National League North with Kidderminster Harriers, so an appearance in the Champions League would be an enormous step up for either player.

Williams has already played this season | James Williamson - AMA/Getty Images

Williams has already played twice for the senior side this season, lining up alongside Van Dijk in both of Liverpool's Carabao Cup games, so he may well be Klopp's first reserve.

Elsewhere, Liverpool will also be without goalkeeper Alisson and midfielder Alex Oxlade-Chamberlian, so Klopp may be forced to get creative with his lineup against Ajax.


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Source : 90min