"It doesn't look good" – Jurgen Klopp confirms injury to key Liverpool star ahead of Sheffield United clash

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has revealed that Joel Matip is likely to be out for an indefinite period of time ahead of his team's upcoming league clash at Sheffield United.

Matip, 32, injured his knee in the Reds' 4-3 Premier League home triumph against Fulham earlier this Sunday (December 3). He was replaced by Ibrahima Konate in the 69th minute of the thrilling match.

During a recent pre-match press conference, Klopp was asked to shed light on the Cameroonian centre-back's potential return date from his recent injury. He replied (h/t Liverpoolfc.com):

"No, I don't know exactly but it doesn't look good, that's something we can say. The scan is not done yet so we don't know exactly, but it's not great. From the first second it was clear, we spoke to him and said, 'No, that's not good'. But how long, I don't know."

In Matip's absence, Konate is expected to start his sixth league contest of the term in Liverpool's away match on Wednesday (December 6).

Apart from Matip, Alisson Becker, Andy Robertson, Thiago, Diogo Jota, and Stefan Bajcetic will also miss the Reds' upcoming domestic clash.

Paul Merson predicts outcome of upcoming contest between Sheffield United-Liverpool

In his column for Sportskeeda, Arsenal legend Paul Merson predicted an easy 3-0 win for Liverpool during their upcoming Premier League trip to Sheffield United. He wrote:

"Jurgen Klopp needs to keep going strong in the Premier League. He fielded a strong team [in 4-3 home win over Fulham] and they managed to stumble over the line. They went to Luton Town and dropped a couple of bad points, and they can't afford to do that here. They need to sort out their form away from home."

Merson claimed that the Reds will prove to be too strong for Sheffield:

"If Liverpool are on top of their game, I don't think they'll have any problems. They weren't at their best and nearly got stung at home by Fulham. They need to blow these teams away in the first twenty minutes. Sheffield United will try and make a battle out of this match, but I don't think they'll be able to pull it off."

While the Reds are second in the 2023-24 domestic standings with 31 points from 14 matches, Sheffield United are 20th with just five points.

The Merseyside outfit, who have won 15 of their 21 overall outings this term, boast a great head-to-head record against Sheffield. They have registered six wins and a draw in their last seven against the Blades.