Ibrahima Konate injury timeframe outlined as Liverpool sweat on key man for Man City clash

Ibrahima Konate has been forced out of France duty during the upcoming international break after the Liverpool defender missed Sunday's win over Brentford.

The centre-back was a surprise omission from Jurgen Klopp's squad for the visit of the Bees at Anfield. Konate had played in the 1-1 draw at Luton Town the previous weekend while he was named on the bench for the 3-2 loss against Toulouse in the Europa League.

Joe Gomez was also absent for Liverpool against Brentford, with Joel Matip partnering Virgil van Dijk in central defence. The pair were solid as the Reds earned a 3-0 win, with Mo Salah firing a double and Diogo Jota putting the gloss on the triumph.

According to the French Football Federation, Konate sustained a minor hamstring injury during the warm-up at Toulouse. It's reported the 24-year-old will be sidelined for around two weeks, which means he'll not feature in France's European Championships qualifiers against Gibraltar and Greece. And if the prognosis of Konate's injury is correct, he may be in a race to be fit for Liverpool's top-of-the-table clash against Manchester City when the season recommences.

A French Football Federation statement said: "Victim of a small muscle injury to his left hamstring with Liverpool in the Europa League on Thursday in Toulouse during the warm-up, Ibrahima Konaté was unable to play this weekend with Liverpool.

"His injury requiring approximately two weeks of treatment, Didier Deschamps, after speaking with Dr. Franck Le Gall, the doctor of the French team, recorded Ibrahima Konaté's withdrawal.

"The national coach decided to call Axel Disasi as reinforcement. The Chelsea defender is expected tomorrow at noon at Clairefontaine, like all the players selected for this last gathering of the year."