Liverpool: Arne Slot confirms injury-prone Reds star can now ‘play three times a week’

Jason Soutar
Liverpool head coach Arne Slot checks on the injured Ibrahima Konate
Liverpool head coach Arne Slot checks on the injured Ibrahima Konate

Liverpool boss Arne Slot believes injury-prone defender Ibrahima Konate is “now coming to a moment where he could play three times a week”.

Slot was speaking ahead of his side’s Premier League match at home to Ipswich Town on Saturday.

Liverpool beat Kieran McKenna’s men on matchday one, which was Slot’s first competitive match as the club’s head coach, replacing Reds legend Jurgen Klopp in the summer.

It has been a seamless transition under the Dutchman, with Liverpool currently top of the Premier League by six points, with a game in hand over Arsenal in second.

On facing Ipswich, Slot told a press conference on Friday morning: “I think it’s fair to say they have improved during the first half. Kieran McKenna already made it difficult for us during the first game.

“At some point, they’ve become a very good team that makes it difficult for every team, except maybe their last game which was maybe an exception to the rule, and maybe that’s because City was City again.

“Not a lot (the difference between now and then). The fact was that I only worked with 13 or 14 players for one-and-a-half weeks during the summer.

“It’s normal that, I think, we have improved. The second half performance was something quite similar to what we see now.”

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Liverpool boss Arne Slot gives positive Ibrahima Konate update

Liverpool’s form in 2024/25 has been helped by a lack of injury problems. Konate has been brilliant next to Virgil van Dijk but did miss all of the Reds’ eight matches in December, however.

Having played four games since returning from a knee issue, Konate was an unused substitute as Slot gave him a rest on Tuesday against French club Lille.

Slot was asked about managing Konate’s pain and says he will soon be able to play three games in one week.

“I think you’ve seen how we’ve tried to manage that,” he said.

“It’s safe for him to play, but it’s more the load where if a player is out for five or six weeks and then you play him every three days, that’s, in our opinion, a certain risk. I think he’s now coming to a moment where he could play three times a week.

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“I think one of the things he could improve is his play with the ball. I would not say he is poor in that, but he could improve, he could go to another level, and I think he works really hard to improve that, and I already see this improvement.

“Defensively, he’s of the highest standard.”

Slot confirms Liverpool midfielder out of Ipswich clash

Curtis Jones came off at half-time against Lille with an injury and Slot has confirmed he is not available to face Ipswich.

“He went off at half-time, so it’s mostly not a good sign, and it wasn’t because he will not be available for the game tomorrow.

“The rest, we have to wait and see.”

Liverpool players must avoid getting carried away – Slot

Liverpool are flying high but Slot has emphasised the need to not get too excited on the pitch by playing “stupid” passes.

“That is difficult for fans,” he said. “My father is a fan as well, and when I call him after the game, he can also say ‘it wasn’t as exciting as other games’. Then I have to try and explain to him that these games, you can easily lose if you’re starting to force all kinds of difficult balls. He’s not always agreeing with me!

“As a manager, I was quite happy with our performance against Lille, because they are a team that are so well organized and have so much control, and there was one moment in the game I can remember that Curtis tried to play at the halfway line a ball that was a bit of a risk. We lost that ball and they counterattacked us.

“That’s the risk you have if you play a low block team. Forest is probably the best in the league if you play these stupid balls, which my father would love to see us playing a bit more.

“There’s a difficult balance between taking the risk and conceding a lot, or having control and maybe not creating as much. It’s a balance we have to find, and I can understand that is sometimes difficult for fans that come to the stadium to see us winning, but hopefully us scoring a lot of goals and and exciting match.”

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