Liverpool are likely to be without Darwin Nunez for Saturday’s Premier League match against Brighton.
The Uruguay international has, according to the Daily Telegraph, sustained a ‘minor injury’ and has been absent from training this week.
Jurgen Klopp is already without long-term absentees Diogo Jota and Luis Diaz, while Roberto Firmino is unlikely to be rushed back.
Nunez’s absence is likely to mean a Premier League debut for January signing Cody Gakpo, who made his Liverpool bow in last weekend’s 2-2 draw against Wolves in the third round of the FA Cup.
The summer signing from Benfica got back on the scoresheet against Wolves after a difficult couple of weeks during which his erratic finishing had again come under the microscope.
Nunez has scored 10 times in all competitions since his arrival from Benfica but he has encountered heavy criticism for a series of high-profile misses.
The Premier League’s all-time record goalscorer Alan Shearer, however, believes the 23-year-old has what it takes to become a huge success at Anfield under Klopp.
The assist ð
The finish ð@Darwinn99 with an #EmiratesFACup debut goal of pure perfection for @LFC pic.twitter.com/YpbzaEiizu— Emirates FA Cup (@EmiratesFACup) January 7, 2023
He told The Athletic: ‘Nobody has fluffed more big chances than Nunez in the Premier League this season (15 according to Opta).
Place that next to his transfer fee, compare his goals to Haaland’s, factor in the Norwegian’s cheaper cost and Liverpool’s struggles in the Premier League, plus those cruel chants from opposition fans about him being, “just a s*** Andy Carroll”, and it doesn’t look great, does it?
‘Most of that is grossly unfair, though. Nunez is a modern forward in the same kind of mould as Mohamed Salah or Sadio Mane rather than a traditional centre-forward, and he is certainly not a goalscoring freak like Haaland.
‘But then, who is? It wasn’t too long ago that a goal every other game would be viewed as a fine return for most players and perhaps Haaland, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo have changed the way we view that.
‘But they are outliers, not the norm. Not everybody can do it.’
MORE : Norwegian prospect Andreas Schjelderup rejects Liverpool in favour of Benfica move
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