Liverpool suffered a fresh setback as defender Joe Gomez has injured himself while on international duty with England. The centre-back was called up by manager Gareth Southgate for the upcoming national team games in the UEFA Nations League 2020-21 competition and an international friendly. The 23-year-old’s injury adds to the already substantial defensive problems for Jurgen Klopp’s team. England vs Iceland, UEFA Nations League 2020-21 Clash Under Threat Due to UK's New Travel Guidelines.

Liverpool defender Joe Gomez has suffered a potentially serious knee injury while training with England and has withdrawn from the national team for their upcoming matches. Then 23-year-old will miss the Three Lion’s clashes against the Republic of Ireland in a friendly and Nations League encounters with Belgium and Iceland.

The extent of Joe Gomez’s injury is still unknown but the defender is set to undergo scans to determine the amount of time he will be on the sidelines. Commenting on his injury, England manager Gareth Southgate said ‘we’ve got to wait and see what the scans show. We’re all hopeful for him, but it’s not a good situation. I don’t see him being involved in our games.’

The injury is not good news for Liverpool, who are already missing some of their most important defensive players. Star-man Virgin van Dijk is set to be on the sideline for a lengthy period of time after surgery on his knee earlier this season while Fabinho, who has slotted in that position, also sustained a hamstring injury last month.

Jurgen Klopp’s team are now only with one fully fit first-team defender in Joel Matip, who himself returned from an injury in the game against Manchester City past weekend. Rhys Williams, who played in the Champions League against Atalanta, and Nat Phillips, who took the field against West Ham, are likely to replace Joe Gomez in the Merseyside team.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Nov 12, 2020 02:24 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).