England midfielder, Jordan Henderson, was withdrawn at half-time against Belgium due to tightness in his leg with doubt on his availability for already injury-hit Liverpool ahead of EPL resumption.
Equity News understands that Liverpool’s first team would have barely 8 players available with Van Dijk, Trent Arnold, Thiago Alcantara, Andy Robertson, Mohammed Salah, Joe Gomez, and now Henderson.
Harry Winks replaced Henderson in the second half of England’s 2-0 loss in their Nations League group stage match on Sunday which ended the visitors’ hopes of reaching the finals.
“Jordan had a bit of tightness at halftime and felt he couldn’t carry on,” Southgate told reporters, adding that he was not sure if it was a hamstring issue.
Southgate said the Liverpool skipper will be assessed when they return to England.
Liverpool has had a number of regulars in their starting line-up sidelined with injury, losing defenders Virgil van Dijk and Joe Gomez after both underwent surgeries while Trent Alexander-Arnold withdrew from the England squad with injury.
The defense is threadbare with left-back Andy Robertson also a doubt with a hamstring issue while Liverpool’s midfield is without Thiago Alcantara and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain as both players recover from knee injuries.
Meanwhile, forward Mohamed Salah is set to miss Sunday’s match against Leicester City as he isolates after testing positive for COVID-19.
Southgate said Manchester City winger Raheem Sterling would miss their final group stage match against Iceland with a calf injury but would be available for the weekend.
Your #ThreeLions for tonight's big game against Belgium in the #NationsLeague! đź‘Š pic.twitter.com/elYaK3yzGl
— England (@England) November 15, 2020
The England boss, 50, also confirmed he had tested positive for COVID-19 last month.
“I did have the virus but I was fortunate,” he said. “It was not as serious as so many people in our country. It was not pleasant but it is all fine now.”
