Jurgen Klopp Offers Injury Update On Fabinho Ahead Of Liverpool's FA Cup Final

Jurgen Klopp offered an update on defensive midfielder Fabinho, who suffered an injury at Villa Park on Tuesday.

Even though Liverpool kept their title race alive by beating Aston Villa 2-1 in the 2021-22 Premier League, Klopp has a new injury headache in Fabinho. The Brazilian midfielder was forced off the field after suffering a hamstring injury during the first half, leaving the Reds sweating, considering they have two major finals scheduled this month.

Captain Jordan Henderson came off the bench to replace Fabinho, who had scored in Liverpool's 3-2 win over Villarreal last week that saw the Reds progress to the UEFA Champions League final.

Klopp admitted that Liverpool will need to wait for further assessment, before adding that Fabinho felt "positive" about the issue.

"I don't know. He felt a muscle, not too much. It was not the thigh, but the other side (hamstring). He is quite positive but I’m not sure what I can take of that, to be honest. We will see. I can't say when he'll be ready. Nobody has an answer for that. He has a good feeling and that gives me a better feeling than I had when I took him off," Klopp said in a post-match conference, Liverpool Echo reported.

About left-back Andy Robertson, who was not on the matchday squad, Klopp said he wanted to give some rest to his Scottish defender.

"I think the rest came through without problems. Robbo was not in the squad today because I wanted to give him just a rest at home and bring another striker into the squad if we needed, that’s it. Apart from that, we should be fine," added Klopp.

Sadio Mane, who is being linked with a move away from Liverpool, scored the crucial winner for Klopp's side against Aston Villa. Douglas Luiz put the hosts 1-0 up inside three minutes from the kick-off before center-back Joel Matip netted an equalizer for Liverpool just a few minutes later.

Mane heaped praise on Luis Diaz, whose cross led to the Senegal national's goal.

"Well, I think it was first of all a good cross from Diaz. I was in the box and in this moment, I just think to put it in the net. Even without power, I think it's usually a goal so that's what I try to do. I know him [Diaz] very well. He is a great player, along with the other [front players]. We know each other, we train every day. I knew that he was going to cross so I was just going to be ready for it," added Mane, according to Liverpool's official website.

Liverpool's next game is the FA Cup final against Chelsea, which is scheduled to take place Saturday at Wembley Stadium.