Arne Slot brutally dismisses Calvin Ramsay despite Liverpool injury crisis | Football | Sport

Liverpool manager Arne Slot has not dismissed the possibility of Joe Gomez stepping in to solve the club’s right-back dilemma for Wednesday’s match against Sunderland. However, he has brutally ruled out using Calvin Ramsay as an option for the crucial clash in the north east. Liverpool are currently without their usual choices, Jeremie Frimpong and Conor Bradley, due to injuries.

While Dominik Szoboszlai, who filled in on the right side of defence for the last two matches, is suspended following his late red card in Sunday’s 2-1 Premier League defeat to Manchester City. Despite initially giving a pessimistic update on Gomez after the loss to City, Slot has now announced that the England international will return to training today and could potentially start at the Stadium of Light. This is a must-win game for Liverpool if they want to stay in contention for Champions League qualification.

“Joe hasn’t trained with us yet,” the Reds boss stated on Tuesday. “I’m expecting him today for the first time. Indeed, if Joe is not ready to start then we are missing four players that have played in that position (right-back).

“But Curtis (Jones) and Wata (Wataru Endo) have played in this position so we’ve had six different right full-backs this season.”

Ramsay made his debut in the League Cup defeat to Crystal Palace in October but has yet to feature in the Premier League, despite joining from Aberdeen in the summer of 2022.

In response to speculation that the 22-year-old could be a potential right-back, Slot commented: “In general, if you don’t win a game, the players who aren’t playing become the best players in the squad. That’s the same everywhere in the world.”

He added: “This is an example of that as well. I just want to protect all my players. I’ve chosen other players until now and that’s also what I’m going to do tomorrow.”

Liverpool are currently dealing with injuries to key players, with Alexander Isak out due to a broken leg and Giovanni Leoni ruled out for the season as he recovers from ACL surgery. The Reds’ new centre-back signing Jeremy Jacquet, set to join in the summer in a £60 million deal, is also facing a lengthy spell on the sidelines.

Reports from France suggest he may require surgery for a shoulder injury sustained while playing for Rennes against Lens.

Slot addressed the perception that Liverpool have been plagued by bad luck this season, stating: “It feels like that, that is for sure,” and “Even if we sign a player and he’s not even playing for us, he gets injured.”

He continued: “But the moment you feel it’s just bad luck then it comes to you as well. So we need to keep away from that as much as possible and focus on improving performances.

“The amount of times we are conceded late goals in extra-time is far more than usual. The question is it bad luck or are we to blame?

“I’ve tried many things and sometimes and I can definitely say we haven’t been lucky, that is true. But is it bad luck or who we are? That is sometimes we’ll find out in the next three to four months.”