Liverpool boss Arne Slot has hinted Ibrahima Konate will not feature in the first leg of the Carabao Cup semi-final against Tottenham Hotspur this week.

The French defender returned to the Liverpool starting line-up for the first time since he picked up a knee injury back in November against Real Madrid in the Champions League, with the Reds drawing 2-2 with Manchester United in his return.

However, due to having only just returned to first-team action, Slot has hinted he might not feature against Tottenham in midweek, which would likely see Jarell Quansah partner Virgil van Dijk at the heart of the Reds defence. Speaking after the draw with United, where Konate played 90 minutes, Slot said: "Because he was fit [on his decision to throw Konate back into the starting XI].

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"If he wouldn’t (feel okay), we wouldn’t have started him. Then he doesn’t train with us. The moment he starts to train with the team, he is fit again.

"And it’s not to say he can immediately play two games in a week, but he can definitely play 90 minutes like he showed today. And like you saw, except the first game when I chose Quansah, all the other games, when Ibou was fit, he started. The moment he is fit, he can start.

"But if you’ve been out for such a long time, it is difficult to immediately play two games a week. So it will not come as a surprise if he does not play on Wednesday. He played today for 90 minutes and I think he showed in that 90 minutes he was ready to play."

Liverpool.com says: "With Joe Gomez now sidelined for a few weeks after picking up a hamstring injury, it would probably be the right call not to start Konate against Spurs in midweek, so as to not overload the Frenchman so quickly after returning from injury. The Reds probably should also look at signing a defender in the January transfer window too, to mitigate for any injuries in their backline moving forward. Another injury to Konate, or even one to Van Dijk, would be catastrophic for the Reds, so they should look to bring in a quality defender this month."