Liverpool beat Real Betis 1-0 in a friendly this morning BST. However, one of the highlights of the game was overshadowed by a suspected injury to Curtis Jones. Liverpool boss Slotter spoke at length about Jones' condition in his post-match press conference.
Jones started the game as a debutant but was replaced by youngster Njoni in the 30th minute of the first half, a move that sparked speculation about his fitness. Slotter said of Jones' injury, "It's too early to talk about how bad he is. He may be able to continue to play, but you can obviously feel that he's not at his best."
Slaughter further explained, "Considering that we still have a number of matches to play next, especially in such a friendly match, it is a wise choice to let him come off the field and rest. We hope he can recover as soon as possible, but the exact recovery time will still need to be decided based on his physical condition." Slotter is clearly cautious about Jones' injury and does not want to aggravate his player's injury over a friendly.
Meanwhile, Slotter also expressed his approval of Jones' recent performances, "Jones was substituted in the first half although he only played for half an hour, but before that you could see he wasn't exactly at his best. It's unfortunate because he's done really well in training over the last two weeks and I was really looking forward to seeing him in the game. However, it was unfortunate that he had to leave the field early."
Although Jones' departure deprived Liverpool of an important player, Slotter also saw the positive side: "Of course, Jones' departure also gave us a chance to look at other players. Njoni impressed me after coming on as a substitute, which is a positive thing. But for Curtis Jones, it's definitely a shame that he couldn't play."
