Klopp admits Thiago concerns amid injury-hit start to Liverpool career
Jurgen Klopp has admitted to concerns over Thiago Alcantara and his injury-plagued start to life at Liverpool.
The Spain international was a top transfer target over the summer after he told Bayern Munich he wanted to leave.
The Bundesliga champions were almost forced into a sale with his contract set to expire the following year and Liverpool struck.
They managed to land the midfielder for a fee of around just £20m.
It represented a huge bargain at the time for a player that would be named in the FIFA Team of the Year.
But the 29-year-old has been fraught with injuries since his arrival, making just three appearances this season so far.
And Klopp has admitted he has worries over the ex-Barcelona star going into the future.
When asked about his fitness ahead of Liverpool's match against Southampton tonight, Klopp said: “Unfortunately, I don’t know him that long.
"A few months only. So if I would like to answer the question, I don’t know exactly what to say.
"That he could play 20 [minutes against Newcastle ] is pretty special, I would say, because [he had] only two sessions with the team; one of the sessions he was the joker, so I’m not sure you can count that really.
"But this game [at Newcastle] gave us the opportunity to do it because it was mainly about creating and that’s obviously his best skill.
"So we will see. There’s a chance. He played 20 [minutes] so there’s a chance.
"But I don’t even know how he reacts until [Thursday], we will see if he can get out of bed or not!
"Or if he has kind of muscle soreness or something like that. He enjoyed the few minutes obviously and then we will talk new.
"But, how I said, I like speaking about Thiago, it’s absolutely no problem, but honestly the boys who did the job so far did exceptionally well, I have to say.
"It’s not that we could not survive if he cannot start the next game.
"But it’s very good that he is now fit and is obviously in contention. I like that a lot."
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