'We are not like them' - Ibrahima Konate responds to Arsenal taunt after Bukayo Saka injury

Liverpool defender Ibrahima Konate responded to taunts from Arsenal fans after Bukayo Saka's injury blow

13:00, 22 Dec 2024

Ibrahima Konate stepped in to declare Liverpool wish Arsenal "no harm" as the Frenchman responded to Bukayo Saka's injury blow. Saka was substituted with what appeared to be a hamstring problem during the Gunners' 5-1 victory over Crystal Palace and was later seen on crutches.

The injury comes as a major setback to Arsenal as they fight Liverpool for the Premier League title, and some supporters have traded taunts on X (formerly Twitter) as the title race heats up.

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Konate suffered his own injury back in November when he was dealt a knee problem at the very end of Liverpool's 2-0 victory over Real Madrid in the Champions League at Anfield.

And responding to the setback, one Arsenal fan tweeted "rivalry aside, I hope Konate's injury is serious".

The user, titled Bakayo fan on X, was then taunted by Liverpool supporters last night with one saying "karma is a bitch" after Saka's setback.

But stepping in, Konate calmed tensions between the two before Liverpool's clash with Arsenal's rivals Tottenham today, tweeting: "We are not like them…, we wish no harm. anyway In Sha Allah big 3 pts today."

Arne Slot is hoping the centre-back will return to action in the coming weeks, but the Dutchman didn't want to put a date on his return when asked about Konate's progress on Friday.

Slot said: "These are the two (Konate and Conor Bradley) that are still in red, so they don't train with us at the moment. But they are on their way back, but they don't train with the team yet.

"That is quite difficult [to say timescale]. Jota I thought would have been back earlier but sometimes the end stage of rehab takes longer, sometimes they join (training) and then they are not completely ready to start. So let's wait and see but we have a good rehab team here who have done some good work with Alisson and a few others.

"The main thing is if they come back they are ready to come back, let's not focus on two or three days, it's more important for them to stay fit for the long term. Let's hope with Conor and Ibou the same thing happens."