Liverpool forced to take drastic action as pre-season injury crisis hits a new low

A member of Andoni Iraola’s coaching staff was forced to take part in training as a shocking report has revealed the true extent of Liverpool's injury crisis.

Despite the fact that Liverpool are clearly desperate to sign a new winger in the coming weeks in an attempt to replace club legend Mohamed Salah, it's not the only signing that needs to be completed ahead of the Premier League season.

Following Ibrahima Konate's move to Real Madrid and Andrew Robertson's move to Tottenham Hotspur after the end of their Liverpool contracts, the Reds are now in dire need of defensive reinforcements before their opening match at Newcastle United.

As it stands, Liverpool have just nine defenders at the club, but several of them are yet to make more than five appearances and many of them are currently out injured.

Currently, Virgil van Dijk, who didn't take part in the pre-season tour of the USA, is the only fit senior centre-back at the club, with Jeremy Jacquet, Giovanni Leoni and Joe Gomez all managing injuries.

Jacquet, who joined the club this summer having agreed a move last year, is nursing what is believed to be a short-term injury while Leoni is still recovering from an ACL rupture and Gomez is recovering after being forced off early in the first friendly against Sunderland.

This has forced new Liverpool head coach Iraola to make use of youngsters such as Ifeanyi Ndukwe, Mor Talla Ndiaye and Luke Chambers at centre-back in recent matches.

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And in training, things are even worse as it has now been revealed that first-team coach Tommy Elphick has been stepping in to take part in some training sessions in the U.S. in order to make up the numbers.

According to a report from Lewis Steele of the Daily Mail, the shortage of defenders available forced Elphick, a former centre-back for both Bournemouth and Aston Villa, to step in.

Forgotten Liverpool star tipped to start Premier League season at centre-back

Naturally, such a dire report raises questions over who will be able to start alongside Van Dijk when the Premier League season gets underway in just over two weeks.

Many fans would hope that another new centre-back would be signed before the transfer window closes, but according to Mark McAdam on Sky Sports News, this is unlikely.

“No is the answer we are being told. My understanding is that Liverpool will not go into the market to sign a player for the next four to six weeks," he said when asked if a new defender will be brought in this month

“They’re just gonna have to ride through the storm and then wait for their players to come back, and then they will be at full strength at the back.”

Therefore, it is believed that Wataru Endo could step in to play as centre back during the trip to St James' Park as the Japanese international nears a return from injury.

“Wataru has started training more progressively but is very close to being ready,” Iraola said in pre-season.

“I hope Wata can play probably against Monaco. ”

“He should be able to have some minutes.”

It also remains possible that Jacquet will be back in time for the Premier League opening weekend, with the defender only missing pre-season matches so far due to a 'discomfort' that Liverpool want to manage instead of risking a more severe injury.