Andy Robertson injured his shoulder while playing against Spain while on international duty with Scotland; he is expected to be sidelined for a number of months and will likely undergo surgery; Liverpool face Everton in the Merseyside derby on Saturday
Friday 20 October 2023 15:32, UK
Jurgen Klopp says Liverpool left-back Andy Robertson is likely to undergo surgery on the shoulder injury sustained on international duty with Scotland.
The defender was taken off in the first half of Scotland's Euro 2024 qualifier against Spain after he collided with goalkeeper Unai Simon. He walked off with his arm in a makeshift sling and was replaced by Nathan Patterson.
Robertson did not feature in Scotland's friendly against France earlier this week and is now expected to have surgery on his shoulder. He will likely be sidelined for a number of months.
Klopp said: "The decision will go towards surgery. There was a little chance he could try without, but after talking to a lot of experts, it looks like surgery will be the best thing in the long term and that means he is out for a while.
"I don't know exact for how long, but shoulder surgery is not an easy one.
"In my experience, he can train pretty quickly again but not football-specific because he has to be careful, there are challenges and all these kinds of things. He will be out for a while."
The injury blow comes ahead of Saturday's Merseyside derby against Everton at Anfield. Robertson has played in every Premier League game for Liverpool so far this season, but Klopp has other options to replace the left-back.
Kostas Tsimikas will be the likely replacement for Robertson, while Joe Gomez can also deputise.
"Thank God it's not only Kostas we have like that because otherwise with the amount of games we have, we would be short," said Klopp.
"Joe Gomez can play the position. Luke Chambers and other young boys who are showing up in training quite frequently.
"You need options and Kostas is the most experienced, which is good. But he cannot play all the games for now on so we need other options and we have to make sure we can use all of them."
Klopp has only ever lost one Merseyside derby in his eight years as Liverpool manager - 'one too many' he said when a reporter told him of the fact in his pre-match press conference.
However, he was quick to point out that he does not dwell on such records and only prepares for the game ahead.
Klopp said: "The [previous Merseyside derbies] were all difficult for different reasons. I don't think it makes too much sense to compare other derbies with this derby because it was a different team and different manager.
"Let's look at the facts and they are that Everton is in a good moment. It was a difficult finish of the season, but successful because they stayed in and then the start was not that easy, but since three or four weeks they've got the results and before that, they had the performances at least.
"They will be difficult to defend, we have to be ready for second-ball fights, for runs in behind, compact defence, all of these things.
"It will be a tough one, derbies and Premier League games always are. We have to make sure we're in this football understanding and are patient enough. We have to put a proper shift in, take the fight and go for it.
"It's rather uncomfortable if you tell me about my good record because I couldn't be less interested in what happened. If you won a game a week ago, a month ago, a year ago, 10 years ago, I couldn't care. It's not important.
"We make sure we don't think about these things, these records, we just make sure we're really ready. We understand the importance of the game, the pressure that comes with it.
"I can't remember one moment where I thought 'this weekend is the derby' and I enjoyed that thought. For us, there's a lot of intensity before the first ball is kicked.
"You have to make sure you challenge that in the right areas with all the extra motivation from outside, and make sure you play the way you want to play.
"In moments, Everton certainly deserve respect. [Dominic] Calvert-Lewin is back, who is a super important player for them. [Abdoulaye] Doucoure is back to his best with [Jack] Harrison and [Dwight] McNeil on the wings, that's real quality.
"[Amadou] Onana and [Idrissa] Gueye are real talent and super experienced. With [Jarrad] Branthwaite, he's a good left-footed centre-half and England's No 1 in goal.
"I understand 'the derby' but I cannot prepare a one-off game. We have to make sure we play our best."
