"Very, very good" player given permission to join Liverpool squad for Brighton game

French defender Ibrahima Konate has been ‘given permission’ to rejoin the Liverpool squad having been out with an injury.

Konate picked up an issue during the Reds pre-season fixture against Strasbourg and has not featured since.

According to French outlet RMC Sport, Konate has been passed fit by Liverpool staff and is likely to be in the squad to face Brighton at the weekend.

Despite returning, the Frenchman is set to be eased back into the team which could see Joel Matip partner Virgil Van Dijk at the heart of Jurgen Klopp's defence.

The Dutch centre-half has previously described Konate as a ‘very, very good player’ and will be delighted to see him back in the starting lineup in next few weeks.

The French international has featured 29 times since signing from RB Leipzig at the start of last season for £36 million, including a start in the Champions League final, in which the Reds were narrowly defeated 1-0 by Real Madrid.

The 23-year-old was a key component for Liverpool towards the back-end of last season and his presence has been sorely missed at the start of this campaign.

Liverpool have had a shaky start to the new campaign that has uncharacteristically seen them win just two of their opening six league games.

Jurgen Klopp’s side have not been helped with the ongoing injury crisis that has seen the likes of Thiago and Henderson join Konate in the medical room.

The German will be hoping to avoid the same fate as their injury problems caused them during the 2020/21 season that almost saw them miss out on the top 4.

The crisis saw the Reds down to their 6th choice centre-back and struggled to maintain the high intensity levels that had seen them win the title the previous year.

Having not played for almost a month due to the Queen’s passing and the international break, Klopp will have almost a fully fit squad available to choose from when they face Brighton in Robert De Zerbi’s first game as Seagull’s manager.