Jordan Henderson was due to take part in a live Q&A alongside Jurgen Klopp and Mohamed Salah on Friday, but the captain’s absence has led to concern among fans.
The Reds’ preparations for the trip to Tottenham have already been clouded by suspected cases of COVID-19 for Virgil van Dijk, Fabinho and Curtis Jones.
Speaking ahead of the clash in north London, Klopp called for transparency from other clubs regarding those infected, with five of the 10 Premier League fixtures this weekend already postponed.
Now, however, supporters have raised concerns over the absence of Henderson from a Q&A as part of Liverpool’s charity Christmas event at Anfield on Friday afternoon.
The captain was advertised to take part in the session, streamed live from the training ground at Kirkby, but according to those who attended, he did not take part.
Salah and Klopp were claimed to have revealed negative tests for themselves, but Henderson’s late omission has seen supporters speculate on social media:
?????????: Similar to Virgil van Dijk and Fabinho, there is a couple of rumours claiming that Mohamed Salah and Jordan Henderson have caught COVID.
Nothing is confirmed yet but it's similar to the ones before Newcastle. We'll keep you posted on any updates.
— LFC Transfer Room (@LFCTransferRoom) December 17, 2021
So we've learned that the video call was live for the Anfield lunch this afternoon. Klopp and Salah said they tested negative but Henderson was meant to be there but he was absent. Again, these are rumours and we'll keep you fully updated as we try and confirm them.
— LFC Transfer Room (@LFCTransferRoom) December 17, 2021
Does Henderson have covid ffs ?
— ?? (@TrentSZN__) December 17, 2021
Rumours of Covid again, Henderson this time?
— Adam Hanlon (@just_adam_30) December 18, 2021
The suggestion, then, is that Henderson may have joined Van Dijk, Fabinho and Jones in testing positive for COVID-19, which would rule him out of Sunday’s clash at the very least.
Liverpool would almost certainly conduct a second test on the midfielder, as was the case with the aforementioned trio – though it is telling that the club are yet to confirm whether those cases are positive or not.
However, it must be stressed that this is simply conjecture at this stage, with there any number of reasons why Henderson may not have been able to fulfil his media duties at the event.
But there is every chance the virus could spread throughout the squad if any players or staff have tested positive, as has been seen at other clubs throughout the Premier League.
