Axel Tuanzebe, Jacob Greaves, Ben Johnson, and Massimo Luongo were the known absentees leading into the game. Tuanzebe was dealing with a thumb injury, Johnson had a thigh issue, and the nature of Luongo’s absence was not disclosed.
Kieran McKenna said, “I thought Jens was outstanding, I have to say, having barely trained since the knee injury he sustained in the Southampton game. He really pushed through for the team. It was an incredible effort. Omari was due to start the game, but was sick in the early hours and through the morning. That was another late change. With Chieo it looks like an Achilles tear. We hope that won’t be the case, but I think that’s what looks most likely. There’s been a lot of disruption, but that makes me even more proud of the performance and the mentality we showed as a team.”
When asked about the potential recovery timelines for Taylor and Morsy,
Kieran McKenna said, “Jack will be out until at least after the international break. We don’t know with Samy. That’s not quite as significant, but there’s going to be a big, big question mark around next week (home to Leicester).”