Tyler Morton involved vs. Shrewsbury as Liverpool squad becomes clearer

Liverpool are yet to confirm which of their first-team players and staff have tested positive for COVID-19, but Tyler Morton is among the group available vs. Shrewsbury.

The Reds find themselves in an uncertain position as they prepare for their FA Cup third-round tie at Anfield, with the outbreak of Covid at their training ground in Kirkby even worse than reported.

Jurgen Klopp himself has “no idea” whether or not he will be able to take charge against Shrewsbury, with assistant Peter Krawietz due to face journalists in his place on Saturday.

The manager is in a similar position as Alisson, Joel Matip and Roberto Firmino, who are all confirmed to have tested positive for Covid but, if they are now negative and are showing no symptoms, could now leave isolation.

Otherwise, with the League Cup semi-final first leg against Arsenal postponed and with no updates from Kirkby, it has been anyone’s guess who could feature at the weekend.

But with Morton conducting an interview with the club’s official website on Friday, it is effectively confirmed that the 19-year-old will take part.

“We try to remain focused through everything, to be honest, and especially through tough times for everyone at the club and for every club in the Premier League,” he told LiverpoolFC.com.

“The main thing is that you’ve got to stay ready because anything can happen and as you can see, the FA Cup’s definitely going on and everyone is buzzing about it because we’re playing a game – especially me!”

Morton is likely to start in midfield, with Fabinho and Curtis Jones other available options having already spent part of December in isolation.

There is a chance Jordan Henderson is fit, too, having already provided his column for the matchday programme, while Virgil van Dijk is in the same position as Fabinho and Jones.

Liverpool could draft in a host of youngsters after calling off their FA Youth Cup clash with Burnley in preparation, and among those could be Kaide Gordon and Harvey Davies.

The Covid situation could, in fact, see Klopp – or his stand-in – name a stronger side than he perhaps would have done if all players were at his disposal.

Shrewsbury are currently 14th in League One, having won three and drawn one in their last four games, which is their longest unbeaten run of the campaign so far.