Liverpool s Gomez out for weeks with hamstring injury Slot says

Premier League leaders Liverpool have been dealt a fresh injury blow ahead of Wednesdays trip to Aston Villa with defender Joe Gomez ruled out for weeks with a hamstring injury, manager Arne Slot said on Tuesday.

Englands Gomez missed the start of the calendar year with a previous hamstring injury, and his return in this months 1-0 FA Cup loss at Plymouth Argyle lasted only 11 minutes with the 27-year-old leaving the pitch after picking up a fresh knock.

Joe will take quite a long time. Hes going to be out for numerous weeks because of a hamstring injury, Slot told reporters.

Slot said Gomez, a Liverpool player since 2015, may need surgery and would miss a large part of the rest of the season.

We expect him to be back at the end phase of the season, the coach added.

He worked really hard to come back. First game when he came back, after two or three minutes we saw him making a sprint, and now hes out for weeks again. Thats always very hard for a player.

Striker Cody Gakpo, who missed Sundays 2-1 win over Wolverhampton Wanderers with an injury, was close to recovery but remained unavailable for Wednesday, Slot added.

The Dutchman said Liverpool, who sit seven points above second-placed Arsenal, would face a difficult test at Villa, despite the ninth-placed side being winless in their last four league games.

They qualified for top eight in the Champions League, so that tells you its strong team were going to face, he said.

Again, a difficult game for us, for everyone. They have a great home record... that is going to be a challenge, but we have an okay away record as well this season. REUTERS

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