'Afraid' - Arne Slot explains Liverpool double injury concern as four players could miss Merseyside derby

Arne Slot has provided an injury update on Joe Gomez after Liverpool’s shock FA Cup loss to Plymouth Argyle.

The Reds suffered a deserved 1-0 defeat by the Championship basement side. Liverpool, who top the Premier League by six points, were lacklustre at Home Park. While Slot made wholesale changes to his starting line-up, the likes of Diogo Jota, Luis Diaz and Federico Chiesa all featured from the outset but underwhelmed, with Ryan Hardie’s second-half penalty proving the difference.

Gomez latest

Any dreams of a quadruple have ended and to compound Liverpool’s frustrations, they lost Gomez to injury within the opening 10 minutes. The defender was making his first appearance since returning from a hamstring problem sustained at West Ham at the end of December.

Slot believes that Gomez has not suffer a fresh hamstring tear but he’s now a doubt for the Merseyside derby against Everton at Goodison Park on Wednesday night.

Liverpool head coach Slot told reporters at his post-match press conference: “I’m not too sure if it’s the same but I haven’t had time to ask him. It was clear we all knew which moment he felt a bit insecure about because he didn’t sprint back fully and he said: I’m not 100 per cent sure, I’m afraid if I make one extra sprint, things will go wrong. I’m not sure exactly where it is. It’s not torn but it didn’t feel good for him. ”

Jones issue

Meanwhile, Curtis Jones was an unused substitute against Plymouth. Despite Liverpool chasing the game, the midfielder was not brought off the bench despite being only one of two senior players in reserve along with Darwin Nunez. Jones did not warm-up before the game at Home Park.

Slot continued: “That was a bit of a blow [Gomez’s injury] because Curtis Jones was on the bench but came to me this morning and said: ‘I don’t think he was fully recovered from the training session yesterday’.

“We were left with a few more youngsters on the pitch which wasn’t the idea before the game but, still, there was enough quality on the pitch to get a better result than this.”

Trent Alexander-Arnold was absent against Plymouth as he recovers from a minor setback. It remains to be seen whether the vice-captain will make a return against Everton. Speaking ahead of the Plymouth game, Slot said: “Like I said before, it’s not going to take months and not even weeks. We also have to look at the long term, of course we don’t want to take any risks with so many games afterwards coming up. But if he’s fit then of course we will use him,

In addition, Tyler Morton is unavailable for several weeks because of a shoulder problem. Meanwhile, David Moyes has admitted that Everton could be without eight players after they exited the FA Cup following a 2-0 loss against AFC Bournemouth.