Liverpool set to be without Joel Matip for Ajax clash

Liverpool defender Joel Matip is unlikely to play in their Champions League opener after picking up a knock in Saturday’s Merseyside derby (Nigel French/PA)

Liverpool’s defensive options have been stretched further after Joel Matip did not train ahead of their Champions League opener against Ajax and is unlikely to travel.

The Reds are already without senior centre-back Virgil Van Dijk, out for several months with an anterior cruciate ligament injury which requires surgery, and losing Matip – who was spotted coming out of a Liverpool hospital at the weekend – is a further blow.