Liverpool have been handed a fresh injury worry after the Szoboszlai knee injury suffered during Sunday’s 3-1 Premier League win at Crystal Palace, with the midfielder now a doubt for Hungary duty this month.
The 25-year-old was one of Liverpool’s key men at Selhurst Park, setting up Alexis Mac Allister’s opening header from a free-kick, but he was left clutching his right knee in the closing moments of the first half after a heavy collision. He re-emerged for the second half with black strapping on the joint, played on for 24 more minutes and was finally replaced by 19-year-old Trey Nyoni in the 69th minute.
How the Szoboszlai knee injury happened at Selhurst Park
The warning signs were there before the break. Nyoni had already started to strip off on the touchline in anticipation of an early change, but Szoboszlai insisted on carrying on and saw out the first half. Liverpool’s medical staff strapped the knee at half-time and the Hungarian returned for the second period, only for the discomfort to win out midway through the half.
Liverpool went on to win the game 3-1 — Mac Allister’s 40th-minute header, Florian Wirtz’s first Premier League goal of the season in the 54th minute and Alexander Isak’s late strike sealing the points before Eddie Nketiah’s stoppage-time penalty — but the Szoboszlai knee injury took the shine off a much-needed victory for Andoni Iraola’s side, after back-to-back defeats to Arsenal and Fenerbahce. It is not the first time this season that Szoboszlai’s knee has caused concern: he returned from the October international break injured, came back too early at Brentford and was forced off early in that fixture.
What Iraola said about Szoboszlai’s knee
Speaking after the match, Iraola confirmed the midfielder had hyperextended the knee and was not fully fit when he finished the game. “I think he extended a little bit the knee. He was fine, but not 100 percent,” the Liverpool boss said. “The last thing we need now is to lose players in international games. Last time in the international break, we lost three players, three very important players.”
Iraola stopped short of saying he wants Szoboszlai to miss Hungary duty this month, but he made his preference clear enough. “I know what I want,” he said, before adding: “I know that he will do everything to go because he loves to play with the national team. But he was not 100 percent now when he finished the game.”
“He has to be careful, see if he can play with the national team or not, but we will see,” Iraola added. “So touch wood, we are in a better place in two weeks.”
Szoboszlai knee injury: what it means for Liverpool and Hungary
For Hungary, the timing could hardly be worse. Szoboszlai has been called up to captain his country in this month’s internationals against Georgia and Northern Ireland, and he is the heartbeat of the side. Liverpool and Hungary’s medical staff will now assess the knee over the coming days before a decision is taken on whether he reports for duty, with Iraola admitting: “They will have to analyse, their medical staff, our medical staff and see where he is.”
For Liverpool, the concern runs deeper than one international break. Ryan Gravenberch is already sidelined with a heel injury and Conor Bradley is still working his way back to full fitness, so losing Szoboszlai — a player who regularly starts and plays every minute — for any length of time would severely test the midfield. The Reds return to action against Manchester United at Anfield on 22 November, before a Champions League trip to Club Brugge on 25 November and the Merseyside derby on 29 November. There is no confirmed timeline yet, and no official word on how long Szoboszlai might be out — Liverpool will be sweating on the medical verdict this week. For more on the weekend’s action, check today’s predictions.
Photo: Wikimedia Commons (CC0, Timmy96) — collage by SportsBuddy
