Ibrahima Konate trains with France, easing Liverpool's fears over injury

Konate limped off in the 79th minute of Liverpool's 1-0 victory over Arsenal, a match where Dominik Szoboszlai scored the winning goal from a free-kick.

Despite the initial concern, Liverpool's head coach, Arne Slot, downplayed the severity of the injury, expressing hope for a positive outcome from a scan. Konate's inclusion in the French squad confirms Slot's optimistic outlook.

"He thinks it is cramp and I have no reason to doubt him, although sometimes players talk about cramp and then we make a scan and it is more than that," said Slot.

"Jeremie Frimpong wasn't too happy, like some pundits and journalists, when I took him off against Bournemouth because he thought he only had cramp, or only felt a little bit, and he is already out for two or three weeks now. Let's wait and see.

"On a positive note... Joe Gomez, what a 15 minutes. I had to make one difficult choice today because I had to leave one player out of the squad with only Jeremie Frimpong being injured, so then I only had to make one difficult decision on who I could not take in the squad.

"The good thing was it was a centre-back, Giovanni Leoni, so we are perfectly placed in that position."

The defender, who trained with his club teammate Hugo Ekitike, is now in line for a potential starting role in France's two crucial matches.

His chance comes after fellow defender William Saliba of Arsenal withdrew from the squad due to an ankle injury sustained at Anfield.

France will face Ukraine on Friday, followed by a match against Iceland four days later at the Parc des Princes. 

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