Liverpool take on Atletico Madrid in the Champions League Rond of 16 after the international break and the La Liga side could be without the services of Alvaro Morata and Kieran Trippier.
Atletico are currently sixth on the La Liga table having won just nine matches so far in the league and they also finished second in their UCL group behind Juventus.
And all this means they will go into the Liverpool clash as underdogs and if Alvaro Morata and Trippier are both on the sidelines, no one will really give them any hope of making it to the next round.
Trippier has missed the last four games with a groin injury and the player has undergone surgery meaning he will be out for a rather long time and looks all set to miss the Liverpool clash.
A club statement read as quoted: “Kieran Trippier on Tuesday underwent surgery to treat the pubalgia he’s been suffering in recent weeks. Our right-back had been feeling pain and initially followed a conservative treatment.
“As the discomfort did not fully disappear, the club’s medical services decided to perform surgery on the player.
“The operation went ahead without complications and Trippier will now begin a recovery process involving physiotherapy and gym work.”
And if this was not enough Alvaro Morata has been ruled out for two weeks after suffering a muscle injury during Saturday’s defeat by Real Madrid.
The two weeks span means the striker will be fit just before the first-leg at the Wanda Metropolitano and it remains to be seen whether he can be a 100% to feature against Jurgen Klopp’s side.
Liverpool already have one of the best defences in Europe and with Alvaro Morata out of the picture, it will be a real uphill task for Atletico to pick up a win against the Anfield outfit.
The Reds take on Norwich City right before their UCL clash vs Atletico Madrid meaning Jurgen Klopp does have the luxury of resting a number of his star players before this key encounter more so since they maintain a healthy lead in the league.
