Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has confirmed that Ibrahima Konate will be back for Sunday's Premier League clash with Tottenham Hotspur at Anfield.
The France international, who has formed the Reds' first-choice centre-back pairing with Virgil van Dijk this term, was unavailable for Wednesday's 2-1 win over West Ham United as a precaution.
Konate was not carrying an injury of any sort, but Klopp revealed that the 23-year-old simply needed to rest and recuperate from a heavy workload, as Joel Matip stepped in and scored the winning goal on the night.
Klopp told reporters on Wednesday night that he was optimistic about Konate's availability for Sunday's visit of Tottenham, and he offered a similarly positive update on Friday morning.
Addressing the media in his pre-game press conference, Klopp affirmed that the former RB Leipzig man would be ready to play, while Naby Keita is also due to take part in full training as he steps up his recovery from a muscular concern.
© Reuters
The Reds boss is also confident that Diogo Jota will be fine after taking a knock to the back at the London Stadium, but Roberto Firmino (muscle), Stefan Bajcetic (adductor) and Calvin Ramsay (knee) remain out of contention.
"Ibou will be back. I guess Naby will train today - I didn't get the medical report yet, but probably. Ox is in training. No-one else [is back]," Klopp responded when asked for a team news update.
"We have a couple of players out, everybody knows about them, but on top of that from the last game... Diogo got a bad knock in his back but should be alright, we will see how that developed. Apart from that we should be OK."
Matip and Cody Gakpo cancelled out a Lucas Paqueta strike for West Ham to briefly propel Liverpool above Tottenham in the Premier League table, but the Reds have now been bumped down to seventh thanks to the Lilywhites' 2-2 draw with Manchester United on Thursday.
Liverpool are mathematically still capable of breaking into the top four and qualifying for the Champions League, but they have a seven-point gap to make up to fourth-placed Man United, who have a game in hand on their Merseyside rivals.
© Reuters
Victory over Spurs on Sunday would allow Liverpool to rise back up to sixth place and potentially as high as fifth if Aston Villa fail to overcome Man United a couple of hours beforehand, but the German has insisted that his side will accept Europa League football if need be.
Furthermore, Klopp is taking nothing for granted against Ryan Mason's Tottenham, who he hailed as the best counter-attacking team in Europe right now.
"We take what we get. It is not that we said that would be fantastic at the start of the season but this season taught us a few things. If it is Europa League, it is Europa League," Klopp added.
"This is a season where a lot of things are difficult for a lot of teams. We have our problems, Chelsea have problems, Tottenham have problems. It is not cool for us but opens it up for other teams and Champions League spots are there to grab for other teams.
"Little mistakes can cause massive problems. I don't know anything about that for Tottenham, but they showed they are outstanding last night. I will be prepared for the best possible Tottenham side. They are the best counter-attacking side in Europe by some distance."
Liverpool are unbeaten in 11 consecutive meetings with Tottenham in all competitions since a 4-1 defeat at Wembley in October 2017, and it has been nearly 12 years since Spurs last won at Anfield, prevailing 2-0 in May 2011 under Harry Redknapp.
Ben Knapton
