Liverpool defender suffers new injury setback after lengthy absence - 'you could see'

Liverpool youngster Isaac Mabaya suffered his latest injury setback in the only disappointment from a fantastic 3-0 victory over Manchester United.

The young Reds delivered a thrilling performance at Old Trafford last Friday evening. Trent Kone-Doherty, Kaide Gordon and a sensational backheeled finish from Jayden Danns earned Barry Lewtas' side all three points - and boosted their chances of a top-four finish in Premier League 2.

What's more, Stefan Bajcetic made his return from a long-term injury against United. The midfielder had been on the sidelines since last September and has played only twice for Jurgen Klopp's side this season. Bajcetic was on the bench for Liverpool's 3-0 Europa League quarter-final first-leg defeat by Atalanta before dropping to under-21s duty the following evening.

Bajcetic came off the bench for the final 30 minutes and engineered Gordon's intervention. Mabaya was also introduced at the same time as Bajcetic, with the right-back suffering from fitness issues of his own over the previous 18 months. And in the closing stages, the England youth international was forced off with a suspected hamstring injury.

Head coach Lewtas said via This Is Anfield: “Isaac’s sadly on that list of players who’ve missed a lot of football as well. He is a fantastic character. He’s a strong boy, we’ve had these moments before with players who’ve come through the other side, we’ll just keeping working hard.

“That probably does take the gloss off it. You could see when he went down, how many players ran over to him. He’s a popular kid, he’s a great lad. I’m sure he’ll be OK.”

Mabaya was part of Klopp's pre-season squad ahead of the 2022-23 season and caught the eye. He featured in friendlies against Manchester United, Crystal Palace, Red Bull Salzburg and Strasbourg. On the defender after pre-season, elite development coach Vitor Matos said on the defender: “Isaac, his physical attributes are really, really good and he's someone that can really give life to the right side of a team.”

Mabaya was ruled out for much of last term before he penned a new contract in the summer of 2023. During this campaign, Mayaba has had more rotten luck having been on the treatment table for six months between September and March. And after making two appearances in the under-21s’ past two games, the 19-year-old sustained another cruel setback.