Fabinho injury: Liverpool’s defensive woes deepen as Brazilian forced off against FC Midtjylland

Fabinho’s replacement from the bench, the teenager Rhys Williams, could now play a key role this season

Fabinho (Reuters)

Fabinho was forced off midway through the first half during Liverpool’s Champions League meeting with FC Midtjylland as Jurgen Klopp’s defensive problems deepened.

The Brazilian has been playing stand-in centre-back with Virgil van Dijk out for the majority of the season and Joel Matip also injured. 

However he pulled up with what appeared to be a muscle injury in his right leg while chasing back towards the Liverpool box, and after a brief period of treatment he limped back down the tunnel.

Fabinho’s replacement from the bench, the teenager Rhys Williams, could now play a key role this season alongside Joe Gomez as Klopp attempts to patch his team back together while there is hope Matip could return on the weekend for the visit of West Ham United.

Liverpool did at least have the boost of goalkeeper Alisson Becker’s return last weekend, and he made a key save early in the game to keep Midtjylland at bay, and they went on to win 2-0 thanks to goals by Diogo Jota and Mohamed Salah.

Klopp said afterwards: "He felt a hamstring, and that’s not good. He said he could have played on but no sprints, which doesn’t help. We will see, we will know more after a scan.”