Having been labeled an injury “doubt” by Klopp in his pre-game news conference, Konate was not included for the matchday squad.
Klopp explained the situation, saying on the Premier League‘s international feed: “He will be back after the international break. Not too serious, but serious enough.
“Maybe a chance for [Aston] Villa, but I expect him to be back after the international break.”
This indicates that his next appearance in a red shirt will probably be on September 16 against Wolves. In theory, it also prevents him from being called up for international duty, which will speed up his recuperation.
For the game against Newcastle, Joel Matip steps in for the Frenchman, teaming up for the first time this year with Virgil van Dijk, and Andy Robertson completes the back three when Liverpool has the ball.
Matip has played this position before, but he has always displayed a strong lack of comfort when it comes to covering wide areas.
Wataru Endo starts his first match in midfield for Liverpool and, on Sky Sports, Klopp said: “Everything we did in training, Wataru looks really good so it was clear that he will start today.”
Klopp added: “Diogo [Jota] couldn’t train yesterday. We had a really important session from a tactical point of view, he had a little cold or whatever, that a few players had this week, that meant he couldn’t train.”
In addition to Joe Gomez, who comes off the bench against Newcastle, Klopp has also highlighted Jarell Quansah as a defensive alternative.
