LIVERPOOL'S CARABAO Cup semi-final with Arsenal tonight has been thrown into further disarray over news that Liverpool's assistant manager Pep Lijnders has become the latest positive Covid-19 case at the club.
Lijnders, who took over matters in Sunday's 2-2 draw at Chelsea, recorded a positive test late on Tuesday night. He now joins Jurgen Klopp, Alisson Becker, Joel Matip and Roberto Firmino in isolation.
Lijnders was due to speak in the pre match press conference, but the club have canceled it due to the circumstances
We can confirm Pepijn Lijnders has returned a suspected positive test for COVID-19, further impacting our preparations for Thursday’s Carabao Cup tie with Arsenal.
— Liverpool FC (@LFC) January 5, 2022
Liverpool submitted a request for the first leg of the semi-final at the Emirates to be postponed after the positive cases and availability issues.Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane, and Naby Keita have all departed for the African Cup Of Nations. Liverpool are also missing Thiago Alcantara, Takumi Minamino, Nat Phillips and Harvey Elliott through injury,
"The outcome of this application is still pending."
A Liverpool statement on Wednesday said:
"Liverpool Football Club can confirm Pepijn Lijnders has returned a suspected positive test for COVID-19, further impacting the club's preparations for Thursday's Carabao Cup tie with Arsenal.
"As an additional consequence, this morning's scheduled press conference to preview the fixture has been canceled.
"The assistant manager had been due to handle pre-match media duties at the AXA Training Center in place of Jürgen Klopp, who is continuing to isolate having tested positive for the virus last week.
However, Lijnders also recorded a positive test late on Tuesday evening, meaning he has now also gone into isolation.
"The 38-year-old had taken interim charge of Liverpool for the weekend draw at Chelsea in the absence of Klopp and had been set to continue at the helm at Emirates Stadium on Thursday.
"Lijnders' test result comes in addition to a number of suspected positive cases among players and football staff recorded earlier on Tuesday, which forced the cancellation of the day's scheduled training session.
The return leg of the Carabao Cup semi-final at Anfield is scheduled for January 13.
The first-team training facilities at AXA Training Centre have been temporarily closed due to a rapidly growing number of suspected positive COVID-19 cases.
— Liverpool FC (@LFC) January 5, 2022
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