Jurgen Klopp Says Joe Gomez Still 'A Couple of Weeks Away' from Liverpool Return

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has said defender Joe Gomez is still a "couple of weeks" away from making his return from injury for the Reds.

The 21-year-old has been sidelined since suffering a fractured leg in December's win over Burnley, and Klopp has offered an update on the youngster's situation, per James Carroll at Liverpool's official website.

"We have to wait. Obviously it was really unlucky in that situation. The injury is not like Trent [Alexander-Arnold] or Gini [Wijnaldum] where you know 'that’s the only thing.’ It could have been like that, but then more and more we found out it's a more serious thing.

"We have to wait, for sure, a couple of weeks. We will see, it is difficult to judge in the moment.

"We thought three weeks ago he would be closer and then we had to make another diagnosis in which we saw that it didn’t work out so far as we wanted, that’s why he is still not in training or running on the pitch."

Gomez's injury has been a blow to the Reds, as he's been a regular starter and formed a strong partnership with Virgil van Dijk in the heart of the defence.

WhoScored.com highlighted how important he's been to the Reds:

Klopp has used a variety of players in place of Gomez while he's been out. Dejan Lovren, Joel Matip, midfielder Fabinho and 17-year-old Ki-Jana Hoever have all enjoyed game time.

Yet Liverpool will be keen to get Gomez back as soon as possible. The Reds remain top of the Premier League but suffered their first league defeat of the season against Manchester City in January and were also knocked out of the FA Cup by Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Klopp's side also have some crucial fixtures in February. They play fierce rivals Manchester United in the Premier League and take on Bayern Munich in the first leg of their last-16 UEFA Champions League tie.

Key defender Van Dijk will miss that game due to suspension, and it remains to be seen if Gomez will be fit to face the Bundesliga champions at Anfield.