Klopp opens up on whether Nunez will be able to start against Arsenal after Man City absence

Darwin Nunez was not considered fit enough to start for Liverpool’s clash against Manchester City. But will he be available for next week’s match against Arsenal?

As the team news came out for Liverpool’s match against title chasers Manchester City, the headline was Erling Haaland’s absence.

The striker withdrew from Norway duty after suffering groin pain following City’s 6-0 FA Cup win over Burnley.

And having assessed the striker after Friday’s training session, Guardiola’s medical staff deemed the 22-year-old not fit enough to feature in the encounter against Jurgen Klopp’s men.

Of course, Haaland’s fitness could have massive implications on the title race. The striker has scored 28 goals in his 26 Premier League games and some 42 goals overall.

And with Arsenal eight points clear at the Premier League summit, the north London club's title hopes will be boosted by the Norweigen’s absence.

However, another morsel of team news that could have implications on the Gunners’ season is the absence of Nunez from Liverpool’s starting XI.

Will Nunez be fit enough to start against Arsenal?

Nunez was made unavailable for Uruguay action due to an ankle knock.

Klopp insisted, however, in his pre-match press conference that the issue had subsided to allow him to train on Thursday and Friday.

But to everyone's surprise, Nunez was named on the bench for the Reds' match against City, leading some Arsenal fans to speculate whether the 23-year-old would be fit to start for the Gunners’ game against Liverpool on April 9.

But speaking to BT Sport, Klopp insisted the forward would be “fine” beyond the City clash.

The German explained: "Darwin had a little problem, came back from that, didn’t go to the internationals, we had but big discussions and stuff like this because he had a big cut here - on his foot - so it was pretty uncomfortable.

"We knew it would be fine after the weekend so he couldn't train for the first two days but he’s now back in training, so that’s why we switched him out from the start."

Topics: Jurgen Klopp, Darwin Nunez, Liverpool, Manchester City, Arsenal, Mikel Arteta, Premier League, Erling Haaland

Chris Byfield

Sport journalist with experience writing on football, rugby, boxing and the Olympics. I'm also a Crystal Palace fan. Please don't hold this against me.