Liverpool’s afternoon in north London on Saturday ended in disaster as they lost 2-1 to Tottenham Hotspur despite a valiant effort, played the remainder of the game with nine men due to two red cards, and received an apology from the PGMOL for Luis Diaz’s goal that was incorrectly disallowed for offside in the first half.
Gakpo scored a beautiful goal from Virgil van Dijk’s cushioned header, whirling and firing a ferocious attempt past Guglielmo Vicario, but instead of celebrating, he sank to the ground in agony.
Several minutes earlier, Destiny Udogie landed on the 24-year-old’s foot, injuring him. Gakpo aggravated the injury by scoring Liverpool’s equalizer just before halftime.
Gakpo was able to play through halftime but was replaced by Diogo Jota, who would subsequently be dismissed, after the interval. Jurgen Klopp warned that the forward might have suffered a serious injury as he left north London with a leg brace.
The Liverpool manager addressed Gakpo, saying: “The biggest difficulty of the game, to be honest, was before Cody Gakpo scored, we earned a free-kick, and he got injured. He is now walking down the hallway with a brace.
“To be honest, that’s my biggest issue right now. We may have lost a third player in addition to the two players we lost due to red cards. Therefore, it is evident that we must deal with that.
When asked if it might be a serious injury, he responded, “Perhaps, I don’t know. He was braced. Even though he had just scored, he still felt the impact of that shot. It came from the earlier foul.
Gakpo, whose versatility and ability to provide the Reds with a Darwin Nunez alternative made him a huge loss for Klopp, will be sorely missed by Liverpool as they anxiously await the prognosis. Although a timetable for his comeback is still unknown, the early indications are not promising.