"And so it begins", "Sell this guy" – Liverpool fans react as star player goes off injured in pre-season clash

Liverpool fans have expressed their frustration after midfielder Curtis Jones picked up an injury in his side's recent 1-0 pre-season friendly win over La Liga outfit Real Betis.

Earlier on Friday (July 26), Arne Slot's side opened their United States pre-season tour with a victory at Acrisure Stadium in Pittsburgh. Dominik Szoboszlai netted the winner in the 34th minute of the clash.

However, Liverpool were dealt a blow in the 30th minute as Jones was replaced by young midfielder Trey Nyoni. Jones completed all 27 of his passes and won one of one tackle before being substituted off.

A Liverpool fan reacted to Jones' recent injury, commenting on X:

"And so it begins"

Another supporter urged the Reds to offload Jones, writing on X:

"Sell this guy. How can he "compete" for the XI when he can't even stay injury-free most of the time."

Another disgruntled Reds fan echoed a similar sentiment, posting:

"Get rid, he's not good enough"

Slamming Jones for his injury record, a supporter commented:

"😂 not surprised I don't understand the obsession over him. He's injury prone and is a purple patch player"

Criticizing the Reds' medical team for Jones' issue, a fan wrote:

"[And] it starts lol. Get rid of the medical team."

Another supporter reacted to the 23-year-old's injury problem, writing:

"I did say he would cook under Slot , but under one condition, injuries don't exist."

Jones, who has been at his boyhood team since 2010, has cemented himself as a vital squad member over the last couple of campaigns. The 23-year-old missed 14 games due to a number of injuries and registered five goals and three assists in 36 matches last season.

Arne Slot shares injury update on Liverpool star Curtis Jones after win over Real Betis

After the end of his team's 1-0 win over Real Betis, Liverpool head coach Arne Slot claimed that he is waiting to discover the extent of Curtis Jones' injury. He said (h/t liverpoolfc.com):

"I think it's too early to tell [how bad it is]. He maybe could have played on, but I think maybe you could see he was not at 100 per cent. In a friendly game, with so many days coming up in our tour, it was best to take him off. Hopefully, he can recover from [it] really fast, but we have to wait and see. We hope he recovers really fast so we can see him in the next few games."

In Jones' absence, Slot is expected to offer chances to the likes of Stefan Bajcetic, Tyler Morton, Trey Nyoni, and James McConnell too.

The Reds will next face Arsenal in a friendly on Wednesday (July 31).