Liverpool defender Ibrahima Konate has been ruled out of Sunday's Premier League showdown against Manchester City.
The France international has played a key role in helping Liverpool establish an eight-point lead at the top of the Premier League table.
With injuries to several other members of his squad, Arne Slot would have been eager to have his first-choice central defensive partnership at his disposal to try to handle the threat of Erling Haaland.
However, towards the conclusion of Wednesday night's Champions League triumph over Real Madrid, Konate needed to be helped off the pitch having suffered an injury.
Although no timescale has been placed on his possible return, the 25-year-old took to social media on Friday afternoon to confirm that he had been ruled out of the potentially-pivotal contest.
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"So frustrating"
Commenting on Instagram, Konate conceded that he needed to focus on his recovery period ahead of attempting to return during the winter schedule.
He said: "So frustrating to pick up this injury right at the end of a great game on Wednesday night.
"Now we start the recovery process but one thing I promise is I will come back and be the best I can be once again. Thank you for the amazing support at Anfield."
Konate had put together a run of 11 successive Premier League starts since being introduced as a substitute at half time of the opening game of the season at Ipswich Town.
Furthermore, five starts have been made in the Champions League, the Merseyside giants prevailing in each of those games to top the standings.
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Gomez or Quansah?
With Trent Alexander-Arnold in a position to return from his own spell on the sidelines to replace the likely-unavailable Conor Bradley, Joe Gomez can remain in contention to replace Konate.
The England international has made just two starts this campaign, both in the EFL Cup, with a further six outings coming as a substitute.
Gomez is in a straight fight with Jarell Quansah, who has been given just 182 minutes across three appearances since being replaced by Konate at Ipswich.
Therefore, Slot appears likely to select Gomez as Konate's replacement, also realistically preferring the 27-year-old due to his greater big-game experience.
Darren Plant
