[monks data]

Pre-season Friendlies

Jul 17, 2016 at 4pm UK

Wigan Wigan Athletic
0-2
Liverpool

FT(HT: 0-0)

Ings (71'), Woodburn (74')

Jurgen Klopp plays down Joel Matip injury concerns

By Daniel Lewis, Senior Reporter | 17 July 2016

Jurgen Klopp is not concerned by the injury knock picked up by Joel Matip in the friendly against Wigan Athletic, hinting that he withdrew the defender due to fatigue.

Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp has moved to ease fears over a potential injury setback for defender Joel Matip by revealing that the knock picked up in the 2-0 win against Wigan Athletic is "not too serious".

The summer signing from Schalke 04 limped off the field at the DW Stadium late on after consultation with the Reds' medical staff.

Klopp, already without Alberto Moreno, Mamadou Sakho, Joe Gomez, Brad Smith and Marko Grujic due to a mixture of illness and injury, is not concerned by Matip's minor ankle problem and expects him to return to training on Monday.

"It's not too serious," he told reporters. "It's because of the intensity. We had to make the decision on who played the full 90 minutes - Matip or [Dejan] Lovren. For him it was a little bit too much."

Matip, who had to undergo surgery earlier this summer to remove a screw in his foot from a prior injury, joined Liverpool as a free agent after running down his Schalke contract.