Arne Slot has conceded that he took a risk playing Ibrahima Konate in Liverpool's recent match against Chelsea, after the defender suffered an injury during the game. Konate was subbed off in the 56th minute of the match, which Liverpool lost 2-1.

Slot confirmed that Konate's substitution was due to an injury issue. "He felt his quad a bit," Slot stated. "Then alarm bells go off with me". Slot admitted that he was already considering substituting Konate, but the injury forced his hand. "If the game had gone on like this I would have made the change a bit later but did not want to take the risk". Curtis Jones replaced Konate in the match.

The Liverpool manager acknowledged the potential criticism he might face regarding player rotation. He brought back Mohamed Salah, Alexis Mac Allister and Alexander Isak into the starting lineup, all of whom were substitutes in the midweek defeat to Galatasaray. Slot stated: "If I rotate against Galatasaray people complain that I rotate". He further explained the risk associated with playing Konate, who had played three games in eight days, including a four-hour flight to and from Istanbul. "It is a risk playing Konate (against Chelsea), he's played three games in eight days with a four-hour flight up and down. That's the balance you need to find".

The game against Chelsea was a tightly contested affair, with Chelsea taking the lead through Moises Caicedo. Liverpool equalized through Cody Gakpo, but Chelsea scored a late winner in the fifth minute of stoppage time through Estevao Willian.

Slot also mentioned that he might have substituted Konate anyway, as he wanted to bring on Ryan Gravenberch to create more opportunities from the right center-back position. "It was also already a substitution I had in mind, maybe for a few minutes or a little bit later, because the right centre-back had a lot of ball possession and we needed to create from that position. We all know Ryan [Gravenberch] is quite good in that".

Liverpool face a potential injury crisis at centre-back. Slot hinted that the substitution was precautionary and said, "It might be OK that he went off early enough but it was clear I had to take him off because he was limping". The extent of Konate's injury is still unknown and will require further assessment.

Liverpool next play Manchester United after the international break, giving Konate time to recover.