Liverpool midfielder Curtis Jones was forced to exit the pitch during a pre-season friendly against Real Betis in Pittsburgh due to an injury, making way for Trey Nyoni after the first 30 minutes. The match began at night local time in the US but Saturday morning for UK viewers who stayed up to watch.
Jones seemed to signal a possible hamstring issue during a break in the game, moments before Dominik Szoboszlai netted the opening goal with superb precision.
While details about Jones' specific injury and his potential recovery timeline remain unknown, any absence would be a setback, especially given his recent enthusiasm around working with new head coach Arne Slot amidst fierce competition for midfield spots.
"We're not expecting it to be worse but ideally he would have played on of course," Slot said after the match. "I don't think it's a big problem but we have to wait and see when they test him tomorrow.
The promising talent had candidly shared with reporters just one day prior, saying: "I feel like my way of playing has always been a kid who wants to get on the ball and play, help the team and be comfortable on the ball." He also stated: "I then came around a team who always had world-class lads out on the wing and up front, and I feel like the centre-mids were always lads who were more like runners and more disciplined, I'd say.
"Of course, the principles are the same, but I feel like now the centre-mid is going to be more like the heart of the team. Mo is always still going to get us goals and things like that, but in terms of our buildup and how comfortable on the ball and stuff, how calm we have to be and play more as a team, we're not in a rush to attack.
"We kind of just want to have the ball and just break teams down, then of course that gives us a chance that, if we give the ball away, then we can go and press. I feel more in the past a bit it was like a rush, we get the ball back and it was a little bit too direct, I would say, and it was up and down, up and down. Now he wants us to have all the ball and completely kill teams."
Liverpool will confront Arsenal next before matching up against Manchester United. Both clashes will take place across the pond in the USA before the Reds make their way home to Merseyside to meet Sevilla at Anfield.
Kick-off for the fresh season of the Premier League is three weeks away with Slot's squad scheduled to journey to Ipswich Town on the initial weekend.
2024-07-27T06:14:45Z dg43tfdfdgfd