Darwin injury latest ahead of FPL Double Gameweek 25

Jurgen Klopp provided an update on Darwin Nunez (£8.7million) in Monday’s pre-match press conference ahead of Liverpool’s UEFA Champions League clash with Real Madrid.

The Uruguayan striker was substituted after 58 minutes of the Reds’ 2-0 win at Newcastle United on Saturday after suffering a shoulder injury.

The problem raised fears he might miss Double Gameweek 25, but Klopp didn’t appear overly concerned in his press on Monday, even saying Darwin had “a chance” to face Real Madrid the next day.

“There is a chance. Of all the possible scenarios, apart from the fact that it’s absolutely nothing – that’s not the case – we’ll have to see how he copes with the pain and knowing that we can make a decision.” – Jurgen Klopp on the Darwin Nunez’s chances to face Real Madrid on Tuesday

Darwin is the second most purchased FPL forward of the Gameweek 25 at the time of writing, with 80,000 transfers not far off.

LIVERPOOL’S DOUBLE MATCH WEEK 25

Darwin, Mohammed Salah (£12.6m) and Cody Gakpo (£7.7m) have been used as Liverpool’s top three in recent weeks but the return to fitness of Diogo Jota (£8.8m) and Roberto Firmin (£8.0m), not to mention a busy schedule, has added some risk of rotation as we approach Double Gameweek 25.

Jota and Firmino were gradually reinstated into the first-team following their layoffs, handing cameos in last Monday’s Merseyside derby before being given half an hour each at St James’ Park.

They may have another chance to improve their match fitness at Anfield midweek.

The good news on the FPL front is that the upcoming schedule isn’t as bad as it could have been, with the Tuesday-Saturday-Wednesday-Sunday turnaround allowing for three rest days between games.

• Tuesday February 21st: Champions League Round of 16 – Real Madrid (h)
• Saturday February 25th: Gameweek 25 – Crystal Palace (a)
• Wednesday March 1st: Matchweek 25 – Wolverhampton Wanderers (h)
• Sunday March 5th: Match week 26 – Manchester United (h)

Klopp has previously (and repeatedly) complained about Wednesday-Saturday lunch break pairings, so at least we don’t have any of those on either side of Double Gameweek 25. As a result, fatigue and the “red zone” may not be the consideration they would have could be.

But it’s a partial numbers game in terms of Darwin’s potential availability and that of Jota and Firmino, with extra bodies in attack increasing the possibility of rotation, however small or significant.

We didn’t talk about other players who can play in attack Harvey Elliott (£4.9m) recently.

All eyes will then be on Tuesday’s European action to see if Darwin recovers and if Jota and Firmino are getting closer to being ready to start a competitive game.

Until then, the Uruguayan international remains in the limbo of “don’t buy, don’t sell”.