Ibrahima Konate was “ready to play” as Arne Slot explains plan for Tottenham

Arne Slot insists Ibrahima Konate was “ready to play” for the full 90 minutes on his immediate return from injury, despite visibly tiring against Man United.

Konate made something of a surprise start as Liverpool hosted Man United on Sunday, having spent the previous five weeks out and only returning to training on Friday.

But the Frenchman partnered Virgil van Dijk in the 2-2 draw at Anfield and, largely, impressed – though he clearly tired towards the end of the game.

That tiredness showed as Amad Diallo equalised late on, with Trent Alexander-Arnold often exposed at right-back with his centre-back seemingly not 100 percent.

Asked in his post-match press conference why he chose Konate over Jarell Quansah, Slot simply replied: “Because he was fit.”

The head coach insisted that his No. 5 felt ready to start, saying “if he wouldn’t, then we wouldn’t have started him, then he doesn’t start with us.”

However, as Slot continued, he effectively confirmed that Konate will not start against Tottenham in Wednesday night’s Carabao Cup semi-final, opening the door for Quansah to return to the side.

“The moment he starts to train with the team, he’s fit again,” he explained.

“It’s not to say he can immediately play two games in a week, but he can definitely play 90 minutes then, like he showed today.

“Like you saw, except for the first game when I chose Quansah, all the other games when Ibou was fit, he started.

“That’s the answer, I think, to your question: the moment he’s fit, he can start.

“But if you’ve been out for such a long time, it’s difficult to immediately then play two games a week.

“It would not come as a surprise if he doesn’t play on Wednesday, but he played today for 90 minutes and I think he showed in that 90 minutes that he was ready to play.”

Slot can be expected to make changes in midweek despite the stakes riding on Liverpool’s trip to north London – though perhaps fewer than in previous rounds.

With League Two side Accrington Stanley visiting Anfield in the FA Cup third round at the weekend, it is that tie that will likely see more squad players rotated in.

Nevertheless, at least one alteration is all but confirmed, with Quansah the most likely candidate to step in for Konate – unless Slot saw enough from Wataru Endo last time out in the cup, of course.