Jurgen Klopp's already injury-hit Liverpool squad was dealt a further blow when James Milner was forced from the field in the 74th minute against Brighton; the 34-year-old had started his third game in six days but went down with a hamstring problem
Saturday 28 November 2020 16:20, UK
James Milner suffered a hamstring problem during Liverpool's draw at Brighton on Saturday, Jurgen Klopp has confirmed.
It means the versatile 34-year-old could be set for a long spell on the sidelines after starting his third game in six days, joining a lengthy and growing injury list for the Premier League champions.
Virgil Van Dijk, Joe Gomez, Thiago Alcantara and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (all knee), Trent Alexander-Arnold (calf), Naby Keita (hamstring) and Xherdan Shaqiri (muscle) are all currently ruled out, and Klopp confirmed Thiago and Oxlade-Chamberlain are unlikely to be back for games against Ajax and Wolves this week.
Meanwhile, Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson has only just returned after a thigh injury sustained on international duty with England, coming off the bench in the 1-1 draw at the Amex.
Mohamed Salah was back in the side for the second successive game after recovering from a positive coronavirus test, while Sadio Mane played less than 30 minutes of normal time after coming on from the bench.
Pascal Gross' controversial injury-time penalty, awarded after a VAR intervention, gave Brighton a 1-1 draw against champions Liverpool.
With the game at 1-0 heading into stoppage time, Andrew Robertson was adjudged to have kicked the foot of Danny Welbeck in the box, and after going over to the pitchside monitor, Stuart Attwell awarded the spot-kick, despatched down the middle by Gross.
Brighton had already missed a first-half penalty - Neal Maupay struck a penalty wide after Neco Williams had brought down Aaron Connolly (20) - before Diogo Jota looked to have given Liverpool the victory, dancing past two challenges before finding the bottom corner (60), his eighth strike in eight Liverpool games.
The result means Liverpool return to the top of the Premier League for 24 hours at least, one point ahead of Tottenham and three ahead of Chelsea as they face off on Super Sunday. Brighton sit 16th with 10 points from 10 games.
