Cody Gakpo, Federico Chiesa and Wataru Endo were all left out of Liverpool’s squad to face Inter Milan in the Champions League due to new fitness issues.
The decision to leave Mohamed Salah on Merseyside means only 19 players have travelled to Italy for Liverpool’s sixth game of the Champions League‘s league phase.
It comes with Gakpo, Chiesa and Endo all absent from training on Monday afternoon.
According to the Mail‘s Lewis Steele the trio have been deemed not fit enough to be involved in Tuesday’s 8pm kickoff.
The specifics of any injuries are as yet unknown, with Arne Slot expected to provide an update on his squad during his pre-match press conference at San Siro from 6.45pm UK time.
Liverpool team news vs. Inter Milan: Injuries, suspensions and absences
But Liverpool’s list of absentees for the clash with Inter reads:
• Mohamed Salah (discipline)
• Cody Gakpo (fitness)
• Federico Chiesa (fitness)
• Wataru Endo (fitness)
• Jeremie Frimpong (hamstring)
• Giovanni Leoni (ACL)
• Stefan Bajcetic (hamstring)
• Jayden Danns (hamstring)
Losing Gakpo and Chiesa means Slot has only three fit specialist forwards against Inter in strikers Hugo Ekitike and Alexander Isak and young winger Rio Ngumoha.
Florian Wirtz and Dominik Szoboszlai are also available and it is possible that they start in attack along with Ekitike and Isak to leave only Ngumoha in reserve.
Wataru Endo layoff comes after just 6 games in 3 months
Endo’s absence reduces the depth in midfield and comes after the Japan captain’s first appearance in over a month – 16 minutes off the bench in Saturday’s 3-3 draw at Leeds.
The 32-year-old has only played six times for club and country since the start of September, having come off the bench in each of Liverpool’s first four games of the campaign previously.
Ryan Gravenberch will almost certainly start again as No. 6 while Slot has Curtis Jones, Alexis Mac Allister and Trey Nyoni as other midfielders along with Szobozlai and Wirtz.
Slot has made the call to draft in academy centre-back Wellity Lucky and the 19-year-old is expected to make the bench in Milan.
At least three changes are likely for Tuesday’s 8pm kickoff, with Andy Robertson able to take over from Milos Kerkez, Mac Allister a possible replacement for Jones and Isak expected to come in for Gakpo.
With those alterations Liverpool’s bench would be as follows: Mamardashvili, Woodman, Gomez, Lucky, Kerkez, Jones, Nyoni, Ngumoha.
Of those outfielders only Gomez, Kerkez and Jones are trusted as regulars in first-team fixtures, with it clear that Slot’s squad is stretched thin against the Serie A challengers.