Hungary Hold Szoboszlai Decision Until the Last Minute
Liverpool have a knee problem to watch and a national team that wants their man back. Hungary say Dominik Szoboszlai's availability will be settled at the last moment.
A knee that was "not 100%"
On Sunday Liverpool beat Crystal Palace 3-1 in the Premier League, and the 26-year-old midfielder came off after 69 minutes. That result moved the Reds up to fourth in the table. Boss Andoni Iraola said afterwards that Szoboszlai was "not 100%" because of a knee problem.
Iraola described it as a small extension of the knee. It felt fine at the time, he said, but the player must be careful.
Hungary's plan for its captain
The Hungarian Football Federation published a statement on X on Tuesday. Its medical staff, the federation said, will spend the coming days working to get the captain ready for the coaches. Any decision, it added, will almost certainly come at the last minute.
The federation wants him for Nations League games against Georgia and Northern Ireland over the next eight days.
The stakes for Hungary
Northern Ireland lead Nations League Group B2, with Hungary a point back in second place. The two meet in the final fixture of the campaign in Budapest on 17 November. Before that, Marco Rossi's side travel to Georgia on Saturday.
Iraola's worry about the international break
Iraola said he understands that national teams have their own needs. He expects Szoboszlai to want to go if he is fine, though he is not sure the midfielder will be fine. Liverpool's manager also said he is "praying" that nothing else goes wrong, because the last thing the club needs now is to lose players in international games.
His concern has a recent precedent. Szoboszlai, Alexander Isak and Cody Gakpo all missed Liverpool's 3-0 defeat by Manchester City in October, which came right after a four-game international window. Iraola said the club lost three very important players in that break.
Source: BBC Sport