Arne Slot Gives Rio Ngumoha Injury Update After Liverpool Starlet Forced Off vs Barnsley

Liverpool Echo – Published January 12, 2026

Liverpool secured a 4-1 victory over League One side Barnsley in the FA Cup third round at Anfield, advancing to face Brighton in the fourth round. The match was tense, with Barnsley starting brightly—striking the post within 30 seconds through Davis Keillor-Dunn—and threatening throughout, including a bizarre equalizer by former Red Adam Phillips after a misplaced flick from Dominik Szoboszlai[1].

Liverpool's quality shone through with stunning goals from Szoboszlai (a 25-yard opener), Jeremie Frimpong (emphatic finish), and substitute Florian Wirtz, overcoming several scares and a controversial denied penalty for the visitors[1]. Giorgi Mamardashvili made key saves, Virgil van Dijk hit the bar, and late subs like Hugo Ekitike and Ibrahima Konate helped seal the win[1].

The spotlight post-match fell on 17-year-old starlet Rio Ngumoha, who started for the second straight FA Cup third round and impressed Barnsley's defense before overstretching to keep the ball in play around the 70th minute. He received treatment and was substituted for Ryan Gravenberch, exiting in visible discomfort[2][3].

Manager Arne Slot downplayed injury fears in his TNT Sports interview, attributing it to cramp: "I hope that’s cramp. I expect it to be cramp as well. He hasn’t made that many minutes this season. Today he had 70 to 75 minutes. That’s good for him."[1][2][3] Slot added, "Without wanting to disrespect them, the intensity in the Premier League is even higher. That’s a nice first stage for Rio. So keep working really really hard to play 90 at this level."[1][3]

Fans, scarred by Conor Bradley's season-ending knee injury against Arsenal, breathed relief at Slot's calm assessment. Medical checks are pending, but the update suggests no major issue for the teenage winger, a huge boost for Liverpool's youth pipeline[2][3].

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