By Noel Whelan

4th Feb, 2023 | 6:00pm

Liverpool 'exposed' as 'huge' new details of Ibrahima Konate injury emerge - pundit

Noel Whelan has warned defensive weaknesses at Liverpool could be “exposed” even further with second-choice pair Joe Gomez and Joel Matip in the side.

The former Leeds striker, speaking exclusively to Football Insider, cited Gomez’s mistake-laden performances against Napoli and Leeds United earlier this season.

According to journalist Paul Joyce (31 January), Konate is facing up to three weeks on the treatment table with a hamstring injury.

Joyce claimed the France international could even be a doubt for the first leg against Real Madrid in the Champions League.

Meanwhile, talismanic defender Virgil van Dijk has returned to training after his injury against Brentford early in January.

Gomez and Matip started together as Liverpool took on Wolves at Molineux on Saturday (4 February).

The pair last played alongside one another in November 2021 and have completed 90 minutes as a duo on just two occasions.

Whelan told Football Insider’s Ewan Kingsbury: “This really isn’t ideal, is it?

“The first-choice pair are both injured, and you’re putting a lot of pressure on Matip and Gomez to come in and perform.

“They’ve got to perform, or Champions League qualification is just going to slip away.

“It’s a huge challenge. We’ve seen before, earlier in the season, Gomez made a number of mistakes in the Champions League and in the league.

“I’m not convinced. They were already having defensive problems with Van Dijk and Konate – those weaknesses could be exposed even further now.”

In other news, Football Insider updates on Naby Keita’s Liverpool future after mega-money reveal.