Jurgen Klopp press conference: Liverpool boss discusses Brighton, Unai Emery’s sacking and Fabinho’s injury
The 26-year-old, a key player for the Reds, could be sidelined for between six to eight weeks with ankle ligament damage sustained in Wednesday’s 1-1 Champions League draw with Napoli.
A six-week absence would rule him out of 11 matches in the most congested period of the season, but Klopp believes the options Liverpool have means they can absorb his loss – even though his absence is a huge worry.
“Losing a player with the quality of Fabinho is big, massive, really bad,” said the German. But we are not the only team in the Premier League with injuries.
“We have solutions for the position, we have to replace him, we can replace him, we have played without him, we have played good without him.”
“Will it be exactly like Fabinho? Of course not. Nobody is like the other one. But it will be a good one.
“It’s an opportunity for somebody else. Hendo [Jordan Henderson] played in that position, Gini [Wijnaldum] played in the position already. Adam Lallana played in the position.
“It’s not that they aren’t as good as him, it’s that they are different, have different qualities. We just have to make it work. That’s always the job.
“Fab couldn’t have played all the games from now until March, that was clear anyway.