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28th Oct 2017

Jurgen Klopp explains why he was forced to take Dejan Lovren out of starting XI

He's had no luck lately

Darragh Murphy

When it rains, it pours.

Dejan Lovren has had a nightmare week and while some Liverpool fans might disagree, it’s getting hard not to feel a little sorry for him.

The Reds defender was hauled off after 30 minutes last weekend after finding himself at fault for Spurs’ first two goals in a 4-1 drubbing a Wembley.

Lovren then felt it necessary to remove all mention of Liverpool from his Instagram bio, changed his profile picture to a blank avatar and disabled comments on his posts.

But despite the heaps of pressure on the Croatian centre-half, manager Jurgen Klopp confirmed his faith in Lovren by including him in his starting XI for Saturday’s home game with Huddersfield.

Lovren would have been hopeful of responding to his critics this weekend but, unfortunately, was forced out of the starting XI with an injury at the very end of the warm-up.

“It was the last pass. Maybe you saw it,” Klopp told Liverpool’s official website.

“Joel [Matip] and Dejan were exchanging passes and then in the last one, he felt something in the muscle.

“I don’t know exactly, we had no time – the only question I asked in the treatment room was, ‘Yes or no?’ and I got a no and then we changed. It is his thigh.”

Lovren recently admitted to playing through the pain barrier for several games and relying on painkillers to allow him to take to the field.

“I have problems with my whole body for the last two weeks, my back and now I have hurt my Achilles tendon,” Lovren told Sportske Novosti last month, via the Liverpool Echo.

“I am taking pills so I can play, five before every game.”

When your luck’s out, it’s out…