Liverpool have suffered another possible injury blow during the international break after Ibrahima Konate was forced off at half-time for France.
The defender had started the Nations League quarter-final first leg against Croatia on Thursday night.
He endured a difficult half after giving away a penalty for handball, only to have his blushes spared when Mike Maignan kept out Andrej Kramaric’s effort.
France, however, did fall behind when Ante Budimir’s header bounced in off Maignan in the 26th minute.
Croatia doubled their lead on the stroke of half-time with veteran winger Ivan Persic scoring their second with a fine finish in stoppage time.
Konate was ultimately forced to come off at half-time with the 25-year-old having suffered a knock.
Liverpool defender Ibrahima Konate was forced off during France’s 2-0 loss to Croatia
The defender has conceded a first half penalty for handball on a difficult evening in Split
The Liverpool defender was replaced at half-time by Bayern Munich’s Dayot Upamecano.
France were unable to fight back in the second half, with head coach Didier Deschamps ruing first half errors from his side.
‘What didn’t work was our first half, even though we made a good start and started with good intentions,’ Deschamps said.
‘We lost the ball, made technical errors, we gave opportunities to our opponents, who have quality, but who didn’t have to go after them. They fed off that.
‘There was the penalty that Mike saved, and after that, it just kept going.
‘We didn’t control the ball well enough, and we made a lot of technical mistakes. We were punished. Our first half was below what we can do.’
Konate, who was earning his 22nd cap for France, looks likely to be a doubt for the second leg on Sunday.
The knock will be a concern to Liverpool as the Reds aim to seal the Premier League title after the international break.
Ryan Gravenberch left the Netherlands camp after an injury in the Carabao Cup final
Konate has started 22 matches in the Premier League this season for Liverpool, forming a strong partnership with Virgil van Dijk.
Liverpool already have concerns over the fitness of Ryan Gravenberch, who pulled out of the Netherlands squad for their quarter-final with Spain due to injury.
The 22-year-old left the Oranje camp after sustaining a muscle injury in the Reds’ League Cup final defeat by Newcastle on Sunday.
Liverpool, who are 12 points clear of second placed Arsenal, do not play again until April 2 when they welcome Everton to Anfield in the Merseyside derby.
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