Jurgen Klopp FINALLY has a fit defender as Andy Robertson hands Liverpool huge boost by revealing he’s ‘ready to go’ ahead of Leicester clash despite picking up hamstring injury during international duty
- Andy Robertson missed Scotland’s game against Slovakia with hamstring issue
- He then played 90 minutes for Steve Clarke’s side against Israel on Wednesday
- Liverpool defenders Virgil van Dijk and Joe Gomez are out long-term with injury
- But Robertson confirmed his fitness, while Trent Alexander-Arnold will miss out
Andy Robertson has confirmed he’s fit and ready to go ahead of Liverpool‘s crunch title match against Leicester on Sunday.
Robertson suffered a hamstring injury during the international break with Scotland and was not named in the squad against Slovakia last Sunday.
Sportsmail reported that this sparked fears Liverpool could be without their entire first-choice backline against league leaders Leicester, with Virgil van Dijk, Joe Gomez and Trent Alexander-Arnold already out.
Liverpool defender Andy Robertson has confirmed he is fit for Sunday’s match with Leicester
Robertson missed Scotland’s match against Slovakia but returned against Israel in midweek
However, the 26-year-old Scot returned and played the full game against Israel on Wednesday night and confirmed he would be back to bolster Liverpool’s defence against Leicester.
He told Liverpool’s official website: ‘I just got a tighter hamstring than usual against Man City, first and foremost. Then obviously the game on Thursday for Scotland was a huge one and 120 minutes and penalties had took its toll on me.
‘Sunday, I wasn’t ready and just took a bit more time to recover from the game. But there wasn’t any real concerns about it.
‘It was just the [risk] of doing anything worse to the hamstring was quite high on Sunday and the manager made the call not to play me. Wednesday, I was good to go.
‘Now I’m ready to go for Sunday, I feel fully fit, I feel ready. I know some people were quite concerned but I suppose with the amount of injuries we’ve had, people have become used to it. But I’m fully fit and ready to go.’
Liverpool were dealt hammer blows by long-term knee injuries to talismanic centre-half Virgil van Dijk – who didn’t miss a Premier League game in the previous two seasons – and Joe Gomez.
Dutch centre back Virgil van Dijk (right) was injured in this tackle during the Merseyside derby
Fellow Reds defender Joe Gomez, 23, was also ruled out for the long term with a knee injury
Reds boss Jurgen Klopp was therefore forced to blood youngsters Nathaniel Phillips and Rhys Williams in the Premier League and Champions League respectively.
Klopp also name-checked defensive midfielder Fabinho and even Scotland captain Robertson as options in central defence.
Robertson’s return will therefore be greatly welcomed as Liverpool face table-topping Leicester and in-form striker Jamie Vardy on Sunday.
Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp will be pleased Robertson can bolster his injury-hit defence
