Oxlade-Chamberlain to miss festive period with ligament damage

Jurgen Klopp is unsure how long Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain will be sidelined but says the Liverpool midfielder has no chance of facing Leicester City or Wolves after suffering ankle ligament damage.

Oxlade-Chamberlain limped out of the Premier League leaders’ Club World Cup final victory over Flamengo last Saturday 15 minutes from the end of normal time.

Klopp revealed the former Arsenal man will not play again this year and is waiting to discover when he will return in 2020.

When asked about the injury situation, the Liverpool manager said at a press conference on Tuesday: “No news on anyone else, which is good news.

“With Oxlade, it was probably what we expected. You have three ligaments on the outside of the ankle and one of them is damaged, now we have to see how quick we can fix that.

“I don’t know exactly, I had that injury myself but it’s years ago. It can take a while or it can be quicker, but no chance for Thursday [against Leicester] or this year.”

.@Alex_OxChambo is set to miss our final two matches of 2019 after sustaining an ankle ligament injury, Jürgen Klopp has confirmed.

— Liverpool FC (@LFC) December 24, 2019

Klopp added that centre-backs Joel Matip (knee) and Dejan Lovren (groin) and midfielder Fabinho (ankle) are making good progress, but are not ready to make their comebacks.

Liverpool hold a 10-point lead over second-placed Leicester with a game in hand ahead of their clash at the King Power Stadium.