Liverpool have been dealt a blow after Marcelo Bielsa revealed that striker Darwin Nunez had to be taken off at halftime of Uruguay’s 2-1 defeat to Ecuador with “muscular difficulties”, leaving him a doubt for their upcoming clash with Wolverhampton Wanderers.
The striker suffered a difficult first season at Anfield after his £65m move from Benfica to Merseyside, but has appeared much improved in recent outings.
He scored twice after coming on as a second-half substitute against Newcastle United to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat for Jurgen Klopp’s side, and followed it up with an assist in a 3-0 win over Aston Villa a week later.
While with Uruguay, he grabbed two assists in their 3-1 win over Chile, but only lasted 45 minutes against Ecuador as they fell to a shock 2-1 defeat and had to be replaced by Cristian Oliviera.
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“It seemed convenient to me to substitute him because he couldn’t keep up with the game when we had to press”, Bielsa revealed after the game.
The Reds will now be sweating on his fitness ahead of the return of the Premier League, with Jurgen Klopp’s side in action in the early Saturday kick-off with a trip to Molineux to take on a struggling Wolves side.
“The boys fly now all over the world now, which is horrible,” said Klopp earlier this month. “Pretty much 48 hours after our South Americans play somewhere on the other end of the world, we will play against Wolverhampton Wanderers. That will be a tough one so we have to make sure that we are ready and we will give it a go.”
Should Nunez not be passed fit, Cody Gakpo could be asked to play through the middle of the attack with Mo Salah and Diogo Jota or Luis Diaz flanking the Dutchman.
