Arne Slot gives worrying update on Joe Gomez injury

Arne Slot expects Joe Gomez to be out for “quite a bit” after picking up a hamstring injury in the first half of Liverpool’s 5-0 win over West Ham.

Liverpool are likely to need Jarell Quansah to step up to first-choice form after Gomez joined the injury list on Sunday.

The No. 2, making his eighth consecutive start in the absence of Ibrahima Konate, pulled up midway through the first half at West Ham having felt his hamstring.

Gomez told physios he could not carry on and was immediately replaced by Quansah, who helped keep a clean sheet in a resounding end to 2024.

Speaking to Sky Sports after the 5-0 victory, Slot gave an update on Gomez, saying: “If a player says he wants to stop he has to be changed.

“In a sprint, we all know it’s a hamstring and we all know it’s going to take a while before he’s back.

“I don’t know how long, but he will be out for quite a bit. These situations can happen in a season.”

Per the Mail‘s Lewis Steele, Gomez spoke to journalists in the mixed zone at the London Stadium, and though he was “in good spirits” he “doesn’t know how severe [it is] until scans.”

There are hopes that Konate and Conor Bradley could both step up their recovery in the coming days, but it seems a stretch that either will be in the squad against Man United on January 5.

It is, therefore, even less likely that the Frenchman will be deemed fit enough to reclaim his starting spot straight away.

Instead, Quansah can be expected to partner Van Dijk against Man United with Slot and his staff easing Konate and Bradley back in after long-term knee and hamstring injuries.

For Gomez, this layoff is a bitter blow given he had only missed one game in the first half of the season – that coming after he was left out against Ipswich on the opening day to discuss a possible transfer.

The 27-year-old will now undergo a scan on his hamstring at the start of next week, with fingers crossed he has avoided a serious issue.