Jurgen Klopp affirms severe knee injury for Joel Matip

Jurgen Klopp, the Liverpool manager, announced that Joel Matip, one of his players, sustained a tear in his anterior cruciate ligament during the team's recent 4-3 victory against Fulham.

Matip, aged 32, exited the game 69 minutes in after an awkward movement at Anfield. Subsequent medical scans confirmed the worst suspicions of Liverpool.

In a post-game briefing following Liverpool's 2-0 win over Sheffield United in the Premier League, Klopp shared details about Matip's injury: 'Regrettably, it’s an ACL, and it [the ligament] is ruptured. This is what I feared from the very beginning when I saw the incident. It's really unfortunate.'

ACL injuries requiring surgical intervention often result in players being out of play for at least nine months. Therefore, Matip is highly likely to be absent for the rest of the 2023/24 season. This has now left Ibrahima Konate, Virgil van Dijk, Joe Gomez, and Jarell Quansah as the center-back alternatives for Liverpool for this season, possibly leading to a new player signing in January.

After goals from Van Dijk and Dominik Szoboszlai on Wednesday night, Liverpool are currently a strong contender in the race for the Premier League title since these goals have kept the team at par with Arsenal. Klopp's team is also tipped to excel in the Europa League after confidently breezing through the group stages.

Whether Matip has played his last match for Liverpool is uncertain, as his contract is due to expire at the end of the season. Despite battling injuries throughout his long tenure in Merseyside, including a five-month absence due to an ankle injury, the Cameroonian has managed to remain a vital part of the team. There are rumors about Liverpool's interest in recruiting new players, with names like Goncalo Inacio from Sporting CP and Antonio Silva from Benfica being thrown around.

Prior to winning at Bramall Lane, Matip had played in nine of Liverpool's 14 Premier League games, securing regular minutes after Konate suffered a muscle injury towards the end of August.