Injured Liverpool skipper Henderson to be assessed before Villa game
(Reuters) - Liverpool skipper Jordan Henderson will miss Thursday's last-16 League Cup tie against Arsenal but will undergo a late fitness test ahead of Sunday's Premier League trip to Aston Villa, the Merseyside club said on Wednesday.
Henderson missed Liverpool's 7-2 League Cup win over Lincoln City and 3-1 victory against Arsenal in the league after the 30-year-old left the field with a minor muscle injury in their 2-0 win at Chelsea on Sept. 20.
"Jordan, we will re-evaluate on Friday after this (Arsenal) game to see if he can be ready for Aston Villa," Liverpool's assistant manager Pepijn Lijnders told the club website https://www.liverpoolfc.com/news/first-team/410636-lfc-fitness-update-henderson-matip-tsimikas-and-oxlade-chamberlain.
Lijnders added that centre back Joel Matip, who is out with a muscular problem, will likely return after next month's international break, while new signing Konstantinos Tsimikas has yet to recover from a thigh problem.
Meanwhile, midfielder Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain is recovering from a knee injury he sustained during pre-season, the club said.
"Joel is the same as what I said last week, he will be ready (after) the international break and use the time to prepare the Everton game," Lijnders said.
"We have Kostas, who after the Lincoln game had a thigh problem. We thought it would settle, it didn't, so he will need more time. He will not be involved on Thursday and also not on Sunday."
Liverpool said on Tuesday that midfielder Thiago Alcantara was ruled out for two games after he tested positive for COVID-19.
(Reporting by Manasi Pathak in Chennai; Editing by Christian Radnedge)
