Ibrahima Konaté misses France training despite not yet playing at Euro 2024

Liverpool defender Ibrahima Konaté has endured a difficult few months in his playing career - and it seems like it won't be getting any better with France due to a potential injury setback. The 25-year-old was dropped by Jürgen Klopp in the final third of last season, with Konaté losing his place in the starting XI to Jarell Quansah.

Quansah's form over the final matches of the season, playing alongside Virgil van Dijk , meant Konaté sat on the bench in the last six weeks of the season, not seeing the green of the pitch even once. Injuries also played a part in Konaté's season, with the Frenchman suffering from several minor issues.

Konaté took a subtle jab at Klopp in a press conference leading into France's round of 16 clash with Belgium on Monday night, saying: "I came with a lot of expectations, that's part of football.

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"I knew what my place was before the first match. It's frustrating but I know my role on and off the field. A 100% 'Ibou' would never have sat on the bench.

"I didn't play for a month and a half. But I prepared, and I almost passed out more than once. The preparation was very short. It's part of football. It was a good lesson for me."

Konaté hasn't played a single minute for France at Euro 2024, and it appears he may not see any game time on Monday either, with reports in France stating that Konaté missed training on Saturday due to picking up an injury the previous day.

According to L'Equipe , Konaté trained separately on an exercise bike, while the rest of the squad was put through a penalty shootout scenario, with France having bowed out of the last two major international tournaments on penalties.

France boss Didier Deschamps has opted to play Arsenal defender William Saliba and Bayern Munich's Dayot Upamecano as the central defensive pairing, meaning Konaté is yet to feature at the tournament for Les Bleus. Konaté has suffered from injury issues since arriving at Liverpool in the summer of 2021, various injuries has seen him miss some 23 games for club and country over the past three seasons.

Liverpool.com says: Konaté isn't having the best of times at the moment, he's unable to force his way into the France starting XI, nor Liverpool's, and now he's injured. Yet Konaté is a very good defender and he just needs to take his chance when the time comes.