Arsenal rival watch: Liverpool injury blow | OneFootball

Liverpool’s preparations for their Premier League title defence have been dealt an early setback with confirmation that new signing Jeremie Frimpong faces several weeks out with a hamstring injury.

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The right-back limped off on his debut against Bournemouth and will miss crucial fixtures against Newcastle United and Arsenal before the September international break.

Manager Arne Slot described the substitution as precautionary but admitted the player will not be fit to return until later in September.

“At the moment we only have two injuries, but unfortunately it is two in the same position,” Slot said. “The good thing is we have other players that can play there.”

The timing is far from ideal.

Conor Bradley, who impressed in spells last season, has only just returned to first-team training after missing much of pre-season with a knock.

He is not yet considered match fit, while Joe Gomez has only recently shaken off an Achilles issue that disrupted his summer.

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“Conor trained for a few minutes with us today for the first time,” Slot told reporters at his pre-Newcastle press conference.

“The medical team was completely right about Jeremie to tell me that I had to take him off, because he is out until the end of the international break and that happened in the game.

“I already said immediately after the game that it had nothing to do with how he played, but we felt he had an issue with his hamstring. And with ‘we’ I don’t mean me, but the medical staff. And they were completely right.

“So, a good call to take him off, otherwise he would have maybe been out for longer. And we expect to have him back after the international break.”

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Slot has suggested he may need to deploy makeshift cover at right-back, with midfielders including Wataru Endo, Dominik Szoboszlai, and Curtis Jones all mentioned as potential short-term solutions.

He also added, hilariously, “It’s just you cannot prepare for two injuries in one position, it would be stupid for us to have three full-backs or five left-backs.”

Liverpool travel to St James’ Park before welcoming Arsenal to Anfield, games that are likely to shape the early momentum of their title defence.

For Arsenal, the absence of Frimpong and the lack of an established right-back option could be significant. Slot’s vision for Liverpool relies heavily on full-backs pushing high and influencing play in advanced areas.

Without Frimpong, that system may be forced into compromise at a time when rivals are looking for any early cracks in the champions’ armour.