Jurgen Klopp unsure over fitness of key forward ahead of Brighton clash

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has admitted Darwin Nunez faces a race against time to prove his fitness before Saturday’s meeting with Brighton.

The Uruguayan forward has missed a number of training sessions this week with an unspecified injury, joining Diogo Jota, Luis Diaz and Roberto Firmino on the sidelines and giving Klopp a potential headache in attack.

Asked whether Nunez will be back to face Brighton, Klopp confirmed a decision would be made later on Friday.

“If he cannot train [on Friday] then, yes, that would rule him out,” Klopp told a press conference.

“We are waiting for the latest information; it is not a major one, but it still kept him out of training. We have to wait for that.”

Klopp was far more certain when it came to Firmino, who picked up an injury shortly after the World Cup and is understood to have encountered a setback in his recovery which has left Liverpool unsure over his return.

“In the first moment, it was like a little injury where the estimate [was] ten days, two weeks,” Klopp explained.

“He did the normal rehab stuff, all the experts told us what we can do – and then Bobby felt again something and that kept him out then for longer. I don’t know exactly when he will be back, but he’s not close to team training, no.”

Asked for further updates on the squad, Klopp admitted James Milner and Stefan Bajcetic have not been 100% but should be fit enough to feature.

“Millie, yesterday, did big parts of training and will be back in normal training today,” the boss explained.

“Stefan will be back in training today. He was out, he got a knock on the hip bone, which is quite uncomfortable, but he will back as well and that’s it pretty much.”