With the vast majority of the Liverpool squad set to join their nations for the international break in September, we take a look at the 16 players who will stay on this month.
In total, 28 players have international commitments in September, of which 12 come from Jurgen Klopp’s first-team squad.
With this weekend’s scheduled meeting with Chelsea postponed, Liverpool’s next game won’t take place until October 1, when Brighton visit Anfield.
Seven of the 16 players who have not been selected to represent their country are injured. Caoimhin Kelleher is on the verge of returning to full form, but he was not considered ready for Ireland’s Nations League ties with Scotland and Armenia.
Ibrahima Konate made his France debut in June but is not included in Didier Deschamps’ final squad ahead of the World Cup as he continues to recover from a knee injury. Earlier this month, Klopp said he was hopeful the centre-back would return after the latest international break.
Scotsmen Andy Robertson and Calvin Ramsay remain out, with the former missing Tuesday’s win over Ajax with a knee injury and Klopp saying he won’t return until “at least after the international break”.
Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson is likely to return after the break as he has missed the last three games with a hamstring injury, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain is still far from fit again and Curtis Jones he has not been included in the England under-21 squad. team due to an ongoing calf problem.
Elsewhere, despite his return to fitness, there is no Thiago in the Spain squad to face Switzerland and Portugal, which Klopp certainly won’t complain about!
Fabio Carvalho is another who has not been selected for international duty, despite impressing with Portugal under-21s earlier this year.
Joe Gomez has had a strong showing at Liverpool this season but is not included in the latest England squad, while Adrian, Nat Phillips, Arthur and Stefan Bajcetic will also remain in their posts for the next two weeks.
The same can be said for Joel Matip and James Milner, who are no longer involved in international service.
Naby Keita was included in the Guinea squad to play Algeria and Ivory Coast later this month but is not expected to feature, with Klopp making it clear he was still recovering from injury earlier this month.
However, so far, there has been no communication from the Guinea FA that the midfielder will not be involved.
Disappointment for some players who have been overlooked, but from Liverpool’s perspective, valuable time for the players to rest and recover ahead of the club’s busy pre-World Cup schedule.
Liverpool players will not be on international duty in September
Injured: Kelleher, Konate, Robertson, Ramsay, Henderson, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Jones
Not selected: Adrián, Gómez, Phillips, Thiago, Arthur, Bajcetic, Carvalho
Retired: Matip, Milner
