Ibrahima Konate sent back to Liverpool after injury review with France squad

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Ibrahima Konate won’t be available for France’s match against Iceland on Monday and will instead head back to Liverpool.Konate has been dealing with an injury ever since he was subbed off during the Reds’ 2-1 defeat to Chelsea last weekend.Despite the setback, he was still included in Didier Deschamps’ squad for the matches against Azerbaijan and Iceland.The 26-year-old was named on the bench for Friday’s win over Azerbaijan, but has now left camp to return to Merseyside.He’s also yet to sign a new deal, with his current contract set to run out at the end of the season.Ibrahima Konate dealing with ongoing thigh issueConcerns at Liverpool grew after reports surfaced from the France camp that Ibrahima Konate was training alone ahead of Friday night’s match.With a game against Manchester United coming up next Sunday, Arne Slot may have to rely on Joe Gomez. However, there’s been no official word yet on whether Konate will definitely be ruled out of that fixture.Photo by Joe Prior/Visionhaus via Getty ImagesL’Equipe reported that Konate is dealing with a thigh problem and will return to Liverpool before the rest of the squad travel to Iceland.The severity of the issue hasn’t been specified, but it has been confirmed that he won’t be available for France’s match against Iceland.Reds short on cover if Frenchman misses timeEven though Liverpool are already light on centre-back options, Konate’s dip in form this season has made his absence less of a blow than it might have been.

Still, he remains an ‘important’ player in Arne Slot’s plans, as Virgil van Dijk pointed out.The 25-year-old hasn’t looked himself for most of the campaign, and some time away from the lineup probably wouldn’t hurt.READ MORE: Alexander Isak’s struggles continue as Sweden fans turn on manager with banner displayIf he ends up missing a couple of weeks, Joe Gomez is more than capable of covering alongside Van Dijk. But anything longer could expose Liverpool’s lack of depth in that area.Short-term, though, it might be just what Konate needs to reset and work his way back into form when he returns.