Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has confirmed that Darwin Nunez is in with a chance of facing Real Madrid in tomorrow's Champions League last-16 first leg.
The Uruguayan attacker suffered a nasty fall on his shoulder during Saturday's 2-0 Premier League win over Newcastle United, having collided with Magpies right-back Kieran Trippier at the start of the second half.
Nunez - who scored the opening goal at St James' Park - tried to carry on for a few minutes, but he ultimately had to be replaced by Roberto Firmino as Liverpool saw out a crucial victory.
Fears were immediately raised about the prospect of Nunez missing the visit of Real Madrid to Anfield, with Klopp confirming that the "painful" problem would be assessed after the game.
Speaking to the press in Monday's pre-match press conference, Klopp announced that the 23-year-old could recover in time for the first leg, but he is still experiencing pain, saying: "There's a chance.
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"From all the possible scenarios, apart from being absolutely nothing; that's not the case. We have to see how he can deal with the pain [and] when we know that, we make a decision."
Nunez's strike at St James' Park took him up to 11 goals from 28 appearances for the season in all competitions, and Klopp is also without Luis Diaz, Ibrahima Konate, Thiago Alcantara and Calvin Ramsay for Tuesday's match.
However, both Diogo Jota and Firmino have recovered from calf problems and will compete to deputise for Nunez alongside Mohamed Salah and Cody Gakpo - who netted Liverpool's second against Newcastle - if need be.
Tuesday's game represents a repeat of the 2021-22 Champions League final between Liverpool and Real Madrid, who defeated their Merseyside counterparts 1-0 at the Stade de France thanks to Vinicius Junior's winner.
Los Blancs were also indebted to a heroic performance from Thibaut Courtois, who made nine saves to keep Liverpool at bay, and Klopp admitted that watching the final back was "proper torture".
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"Real Madrid are one of the biggest clubs in the world. We played the final in Paris and I watched it back this weekend," Klopp added.
"I realised why I hadn't before that. It was proper torture; we played a good game, we could have won it but they scored the decisive goal.
"You could see their experience, how little they lose confidence, they are there for their chance. That is what you can learn from them. We are different teams in different times. Let's see who goes through."
Real have already been dealt a major double blow ahead of their trip to Anfield, though, as Toni Kroos and Aurelien Tchouameni have been left out of Carlo Ancelotti's squad due to illness.
On a brighter note for the champions, Ballon d'Or winner Karim Benzema is back in the fold after missing Saturday's La Liga win over Osasuna due to muscular fatigue.
Ben Knapton
