UEFA confirm Liverpool have added new defender to Europa League squad amid Ibrahima Konate injury

Liverpool have added a new defender to their Europa League squad ahead of tonight's clash against Sparta Prague.

The Reds hold a 5-1 aggregate lead ahead of the last-16 second-leg clash at Anfield. Jurgen Klopp's side firmly have one foot in the door of the quarter-finals as their quest for a quadruple this season goes on.

However, Liverpool continue to be plagued by injury issues. Ibrahima Konate pulled up in last week's victory over Sparta in the Czech captial. The defender subsequently missed Sunday's enthralling 1-1 draw against Manchester City while he was not spotted in training yesterday.

With Joel Matip recovering from a long-term knee injury, it means Liverpoool have three fit centre-halves available - Virgil van Dijk, Joe Gomez and Jarell Quansah.

Amara Nallo featured on the bench against City. However, the 17-year-old is not eligible to face Sparta because of UEFA squad rules. Nallo was signed from West Ham last summer and has not been at the club for two years, so he is not able to be named on Liverpool's List B despite being under-21. There is no room in the Reds' List A, with Matip being removed for the knockout stage to accommodate third-choice goalkeeper Adrian in the injury absence of No.1 Alisson Becker.

As a result, Carter Pinnginton has been added to the set-up - confirmed on UEFA's official website. The 17-year-old has been a regular for the under-21s this season, despite still being eligible to feature for the under-18s. Pinnington has made a total of 16 appearances for Barry Lewtas' side as well as six outings for his own age group. Hailing from the Wirral, Pinnington has representing England at under-15 and under-16 level.

Carter was not spotted training with Klopp's squad at the AXA Training Centre yesterday. But it appears that he is set for his maiden involvement in the first team.