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Liverpool have been handed a fitness boost after a scan revealed Joel Matip’s ankle injury is not serious.

The centre back limped off before the end of the Reds’ 2-0 win at Wigan on Sunday, prompting fears of another defensive casualty after losing Mamadou Sakho and Joe Gomez to Achilles problems.

But scan results showed no serious damage has been sustained, with the Cameroon international suffering from just bruising, meaning there are no long-term fears about the injury.

It is unclear whether he will be fit in time for the trip to Huddersfield on Wednesday but will head out to the United States for the club’s tour on Thursday.

Jurgen Klopp could have ill-afforded another setback following injuries to Sakho and Gomez, both of which will see them miss the start of the season – although Augsburg centre back Ragnar Klavan will strengthen that position, medical on Merseyside on Tuesday ahead of a £4.2m deal.

The German boss was hopeful following the win over Wigan that Matip’s injury would not prove too serious, after the 24-year-old complained about pain in his ankle.

“I hope it’s only a minor problem,” Klopp said. “He said he’s had it one or two times already.

“Joel gets better and better and better, you can see it. It’s not too serious, hopefully.

“It’s the foot he had problems with in the past and then he had a little bit of pain when pre-season started because of the intensity. He’s used to it.”

Over the summer, Matip had screws removed from his right foot, which were fitted two years previous after breaking it.

Despite being on crutches for a few weeks, he has featured in all three games of Liverpool’s pre-season so far, and was set to play the full 90 minutes at the DW Stadium before the pain cut his afternoon short.