Liverpool set to be forced into January transfers after Klopp bemoans further injury woes

JURGEN KLOPP will consider entering the transfer market to solve the defensive injury crisis that overshadowed Liverpool’s Capital One Cup semi-final win at Stoke.

 

Jordon Ibe came on as a substitute to score in the first half of last night's first leg after centre-back Dejan Lovren and playmaker Philippe Coutinho both limped off.

The Liverpool boss now has no fewer than 11 players on his casualty list – including captain Jordan Henderson, strikers Daniel Sturridge and Divock Origi, and centre-back Martin Skrtel.

He also lost Mamadou Sakho to a knee problem before the match, and so his side had to withstand a barrage of second-half Stoke pressure with a makeshift central defensive pairing of Kolo Toure and Lucas Leiva.

Toure went down with cramp towards the end of last night’s game, and Liverpool’s boss is desperately hoping he will be fit for Friday’s FA Cup third-round trip to Exeter, as he has no other fit senior central defenders.

 

Jurgen Klopp's injury-plagued Liverpool host Arsenal and Manchester United next in the league

 

In total, Klopp has had to deal with 24 separate injuries to his squad since he took charge in October.

And the Liverpool boss said: “In this situation, with no centre-backs fit, I would say transfers are something we could look at.

“We now have three injured centre-backs and the only fit one got cramp near the end, so that was not the funniest thing in the world.

“We will have to see if we have enough players fit for the second leg. If we have 11, we will fight.”

Klopp could be proud of the steel his side showed, as they put up more of a fight than they did in a limp Premier League defeat at West Ham on Saturday.

 

And Ibe’s goal has given Klopp hope of a first trophy since arriving on Merseyside, with his side taking a lead in the second leg at Anfield in three weeks’ time.

The Liverpool boss said: “I’m proud of my team because they reacted perfectly to the last game. It’s only the first half but you saw it was a special game. We had two bad injuries, and that’s why I’m not feeling lucky tonight.”

Stoke boss Mark Hughes believes his side can still win a place at Wembley, despite last night’s defeat.

He said: “I was a little bit frustrated by the referee’s time-keeping, but we’re still very much in this tie. Sometimes you have to give credit to the opposition.”