Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has admitted that he is 'hopeful' that he and his medical staff took Dejan Lovren off the pitch early enough to avoid any real missed time with a hamstring issue.
Quoted on theclub's websiteafter the match, Klopp revealed that the Croatian defender was suffering from cramp when he was substituted in a frustrating 2-2 draw with West Ham on Sunday evening, a worry ahead of a busy few weeks of action.
Thoughts on #LIVWHU, Jürgen Klopp?https://t.co/WEwwHVVMAJ
The German revealed: "He said he had a cramp and in the ear of the medical department, it was a hamstring issue. It was in the region. Dejan wanted to carry on but we cannot take a risk in this situation. Hopefully we took him [off] early enough."
He also discussed the title race andthe packed festive fixture list's impact on the Premier League table, saying: "It's difficult to stay in the race with Chelsea when they win everything, which we obviously haven't! When we were first or second I didn't think about it, which is what I said. I am pretty sure I said this is the moment to collect points as much as possible.
Liverpool remain 3rd in the table after tonight's result, but fall 6 points off the league leaders. pic.twitter.com/mrzbJKNstN
"The season is very long, as everyone knows, and the most intense time is coming now. Chelsea until now could play nearly the whole time with exactly the same team, Arsenal nearly the same, United had a few problems probably I am not sure, and Tottenham lost Kane.
"That's how it is. We are a real skilled team and our expectation is that we are in the top region of the table - that's where we want to be in the decisive part of the season and then we can talk about what's possible. In this moment, six points [behind] it's not what we wish but we cannot change it, the only thing we can do is do what we can do best."
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