Arne Slot admits Liverpool face a nervous wait to find out the extent of the injury Ibrahima Konate suffered in their 2-1 win over Brighton & Hove Albion on Saturday.
The France international left the field wincing in discomfort at the break, using his shirt as a makeshift sling, after Virgil van Dijk accidentally trod on his left arm.
Konate, who will undergo a scan, was replaced by Joe Gomez for the second half as Liverpool rallied from 1-0 down to secure maximum points.
“Ibou was in a lot of pain at half-time,” Slot said.
“It was not only the first half that was a big disappointment, there was also the disappointment that he had to go off. He’s been really good for us the whole season.
“We don’t know (the extent) yet. He hasn’t been to the hospital yet. It might not even be necessary to go to the hospital. It’s always difficult to judge an injury straight after it happened.
“Let’s hope he can be with us as soon as possible because he had a big impact on our season up until now.”
Slot was full of praise for Gomez, who filled the void impressively having found his opportunities limited so far this season.
“The good thing is that in that position I have two very good other options in Jarell Quansah and Joe Gomez,” he added.
“I took Jarell off fives minutes before the end at Brighton (on Wednesday night) because already for 20 minutes he had been stretching. I could see he was tired which was not so strange because he hasn’t played much.
“I felt I had to bring someone on today who was fitter than Jarell was during the week. Joe deserved the trust I gave him today because he played outstandingly in the second half.”
Cody Gakpo cancelled out Ferdi Kadioglu’s opener before Mohamed Salah fired home a stunning winner to send Liverpool top on a day when rivals Manchester City and Arsenal were both beaten.
Slot said: “We didn’t show up at all in the first half. We changed a bit of tactics but that had nothing to do with us coming out stronger in the second half. It was all to do with our players showing a different attitude and a different intensity.
“To come back so strong against such a quality team in the way we did gives me a lot of confidence for the rest of the season.
“The crowd were incredible in the second half. Our players were but the fans were as well. That’s the loudest crowd since I’ve been here.”
Liverpool return to action on Tuesday as they welcome Xabi Alonso’s Bayer Leverkusen to Anfield in the Champions League.
GO DEEPER
The Briefing: Liverpool 2-1 Brighton – Advantage Liverpool in Premier League title race
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