The Liverpool Center Back Crisis: 3 Potential Solutions
By Taylor Smith
Liverpool supporters had hearts firmly in their mouths when Fabinho pulled up lame in the Reds Champions League match against FC Midtjylland on Tuesday.
With Virgil van Dijk likely out for the season and Joel Matip already sidelined for a third time this season, seeing Fabinho signal to the bench early in the first half was the last thing Liverpool’s defense needed.
Sean Bradbury of the Liverpool Echo has reported that Klopp and his team are still waiting for the results of Fabinho’s scan, but The Mirror in England are reporting that the results indicate he won’t be fit until after the November international break.
Either way, it is almost certain that Fabinho will at least miss the upcoming fixture against West Ham and perhaps have a much lengthier spell on the sidelines. Liverpool have a genuine center back crisis on their hands as Joe Gomez is the only fit first-team center back available.
With a crowded fixture list, Klopp will quickly have to find a solution or the season could be lost in the early stages already. Here are 3 potential solutions to the center back crisis, some shorter term, and some longer term.