Ibrahima Konate available vs. Leverkusen – but Arne Slot says start not guaranteed

Ibrahima Konate has enjoyed a quick recovery after a painful-looking injury, and Arne Slot offered an update on his defender after he completed training as normal on Monday.

The centre-back did not fill us with a lot of hope when he clutched at his wrist on Saturday, but by Sunday he had confirmed that scans showed “no break” and that he would be ready for Leverkusen.

True to his word, Konate took part in training on the eve of the Champions League clash, though he was sporting a strap on his left arm.

He gave himself the all-clear and in his press conference, Slot added to the good news by saying: “He is available to play.

“I think completely recovered, so there’s no issue for him not to play because of what he had.

“Then it is up to me to make the decision if he plays or not, but he’s in a good place.”

Having had us all worried that he would be out potentially until after the international break, Konate’s availability is a welcome boost despite having Joe Gomez and Jarell Quansah as cover.

As Slot noted, though, there is no guarantee that Konate will be in the starting XI for the eighth time in nine games, and you would expect to see Gomez as his replacement if he overlooks the Frenchman.

Liverpool can take a big step towards Champions League qualification in what is the halfway stage of the ‘league phase’ against Leverkusen before Aston Villa await on Saturday evening.

Konate was one of 23 players in training on Monday afternoon and, thankfully, Slot had no new injury absences to report.