Fresh Liverpool Covid update as Pep Lijnders addresses Reds’ circuit breaker stance ahead of Leicester tie

Pep Lijnders has been speaking to the media ahead of Liverpool’s Carabao Cup quarter-final clash with Leicester at Anfield.

Here are the main talking points from the Reds assistant boss’ press conference.

Covid situation

Liverpool have been hit by Covid cases in recent games.

As things stand, Virgil van Dijk, Fabinho, Curtis Jones and Thiago are all self-isolating after contracting the virus.

All missed Sunday’s 2-2 draw at Tottenham.

Lijnders confirmed no new players have Covid and there’s no time frame for when the quartet may return to action.

He said: “It’s still the same. Virgil, Fabinho, Thiago and Curtis are not in the building and are at home.

“I have to say I pray for all the ones who go to hospital. We are young and healthy and hope we don’t have to make this drive.

“This is the time we have to think about these things and health always comes first.

“We will not rush them back. This virus is really unpredictable and see if each one get sick and get symptoms, we will not rush them back, we will take our time.”

Henderson latest

Jordan Henderson was also absent at Tottenham because of illness, although it wasn’t Covid.

Lijnders confirmed the Liverpool captain’s shaken off his issue and is already back champing at the bit.

He said: “Jordan is Jordan. He called yesterday to train again. He had a heavy cold and we know how quickly they can come and go.

“He pushes himself and he’s the type of player you have to slow down. Luckily, we have 24 of these players.”

Circuit breaker

Six Premier League games were postponed last weekend because of Covid cases.

Yesterday, all 20 teams met to discuss a potential circuit breaker to combat the rising number of cases.

Liverpool were reportedly in favour of having a hiatus, although there wasn’t a vote, and Lijnders explained why.

He said: “We always make our recommendations. Each year, we speak to the Premier League, FA and refs.

“That’s what we did again in this meeting. We love the Premier League but we all have to respect recovery.

“It’s important players don’t accumulate fatigue. If our players are fatigue, are not as brave, not as creative, not as many spontaneous actions, we will play the ball to the side instead of forward and the quality of the game goes down.

“Premier League players need 72 hours to recover if we want more quality.

“In all our recommendations, we have to respect the recovery process because Covid reduces the risk of injury.

“The experts are not the managers. They are the scientists and doctors. The Premier League should ask them, not the CEO and not the managers.

“Health is always number one, above everything. The guys now going to hospital now only have one thing in their mind - to get better.

“In life, you can want a lot of thing but when you’re sick you only want one thing - to get better.

“We are in this job to protect our players and our staff and their family members. We have always these good measures in place and try to cut the chain with testing and have to follow protocol of the doctors and scientists.

“If there’s one common behaviour in this pandemic, we have always acted too late. That’s why we’ve gone from one health crisis into the other.”

Selection hint

Liverpool have made wholesale changes for their previous ties in the Carabao Cup.

Despite being just two wins away from Wembley, the Reds again plan to shuffle their pack.

However, Lijnders still expects Liverpool will field a strong team that’s capable of reaching the semi-finals.

The likes of Roberto Firmino, Takumi Minamino and Joe Gomez are all likely to come into the starting XI.

Lijnders said: “We don’t look at games like this, we only look to improve our team and prepare the team.

“If you saw our line-up against AC Milan away, everyone were probably thinking: “Wow that’s brave” and we thought: “Game on”.

“At the beginning of the season, we tell players we want to create memories, special games together and special games with the fans.

“That’s what we do tomorrow night. We’ll try to make it a cup fans, full of desire and, for that, we need fresh legs.

“Every club has a completely different situation. Leicester had cases two weeks ago, hopefully they’re all fine and back from illness.

“We prepare for a strong Leicester team, a typical Brendan Rodgers team that wants to open up the pitch, have the ball and be in the opposition half.”

Origi fitness

Divock Origi remains sidelined, having not played for Liverpool since netting the winner in the 2-1 Champions League victory at AC Milan earlier this month.

“He is still not training with the team so we will miss him,” said Lijnders.