Ibrahima Konate made his return from injury in the 2-2 draw with Manchester United, but the Liverpool defender has admitted he still isn’t fully fit after his lay-off
Liverpool’s Ibrahima Konate has opened up about his fitness levels after making a return from a knee injury, conceding that he isn’t fully back to his best yet. The center-back was back in action for the team’s 2-2 stand-off with Manchester United, playing next to Virgil van Dijk as Joe Gomez was out with a hamstring injury sustained earlier.
Since his layoff after the Real Madrid victory in late November, Liverpool has been managing his game time with caution. His gradual reintroduction saw Wataru Endo stepping in at Tottenham last week and Konate missing the FA Cup triumph over Accrington Stanley completely.Slated for a possible start against Nottingham Forest on Tuesday night, Konate discusses the extra pressure to recover quickly due to Gomez’s absence:
“I feel good, not 100 per cent, but I just worked on it to come back and to fix my knee because I knew a great game was coming,” he saidAnd when I saw the injury of Joe Gomez – I hope he will come back very quick because he’s a very important player for us – I just tried to do everything to come back quicker. The game was so important and I wanted to play against Man United. Now we are here to come back 100 per cent.”
“I think the manager trusts me because I was injured for six weeks, I trained just one time with the team and I played. I think because we know how to defend together and how to play, I was not lost on the pitch.””I just need more rhythm. I think the mentality in our squad is really together and we just have to keep going this season.”
Konate then opened up about the challenges he faced while injured: “This was the worst for me! Sometimes I didn’t want to watch [the] game but I have to. When I am on the bench behind the [substitutes’] bench,
my leg is just shaking because I really want to be on the pitch with the boys. But this sometimes happens and we just have to be patient.To be on the pitch, you have the pressure, you have some stress, but for a football player I think this feeling is unbelievable.