Jurgen Klopp has reiterated the need for five substitutions in Premier League games after Liverpool’s draw at Brighton.
James Milner was forced off with a hamstring problem at the Amex Stadium, while Nathaniel Phillips also required treatment after a nasty-looking fall.
Brighton also lost two players with Neal Maupay and former Reds midfielder Adam Lallana succumbing to injury during Saturday’s lunchtime encounter.
Top flight clubs resisted proposals to extend the five substitutes option implemented during Project Restart, meaning only three changes can be made.
Klopp admits he does not know if or when another vote will be held and cited player welfare as the reason for his continuing reference to the subject.
He said: “If it was about me, I’d have never mentioned it. But it’s about the players.
“Whenever it happens, it will be good for the players. Brighton play one game a week and lost two players with muscle injuries.
“In this period, five subs is not for tactical changes. Today, we made an early sub at half-time, then a second sub, then you have to be brave to make a third sub.
“If you’re not brave, you have to wait until pretty much the 90th minute.
“If we had five subs today, I’d have taken off Andy Robertson, 100 per cent. We don’t have a lot of options at the moment so you can’t just bring them all through the season.
“It’s not the solution, but it’s a little help, that’s all.”
Liverpool were denied goals in either half at Brighton due to VAR deeming that both Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane were marginally offside for them.
The technology also awarded Brighton two penalties with Maupay missing first before Pascal Gross rectifying it by equalising in stoppage time.
On the decisions, Klopp added: “I was told Mo and Sadio were offside by a very small margin.
“I didn’t see it, I heard that, but it sounds like offside twice, even though it was close.
“The second penalty is a penalty because the referee whistled it. There was contact and if the referee thinks it’s enough, we can’t change that, obviously.”
Klopp also expects Milner, as well as longer-term absentees Thiago Alcantara and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, to miss Liverpool’s upcoming two matches.
Tuesday’s clash of Ajax in the Champions League has taken on added importance with qualification for the knock-out stage still yet to be confirmed.
Wolverhampton Wanderers’ visit to Anfield next weekend will also see a long-awaited return of supporters to the stadium for a first time since mid-March.
