Jurgen Klopp has confirmed that Virgil van Dijk could be out for over a month after suffering a hamstring injury in Liverpool's loss to Brentford on Monday.
The Dutchman was replaced at half-time against the Bees, with scans later confirming his injury was worse than first feared. The 31-year-old will now miss the FA Cup tie with Wolves on Saturday, and is unlikely to feature in Premier League clashes with Brighton & Hove Albion, Chelsea and Wolves, with clashes with Everton, Newcastle United and Real Madrid then on the horizon.
Speaking to reporters ahead of the FA Cup meeting, Klopp shared his disappointment at the news when offering a rough timescale, before admitting he hopes it passes as quickly as possible.
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"Virg is a surprise for us. It was obviously a big blow, he didn't feel a lot," the German said. "I took him off, actually. No risk, it was not clear, maybe he could have tried.
"In the end the diagnosis was pretty harsh, we're talking about weeks, more than a month. I hope it goes quick but we will have to see. For now he is not available and that's how it is.
"He's never had an issue with muscles, never mentioned anything before and it just now happened. It's how it is. Nothing different. One sprint too much in that moment."
He continued. "We have other centre-halves. As long as that's the case, everything is okay for the team. But for Virg, it is hard obviously.
"He played an incredible amount of games over the last few years to be honest. We cannot use him on the pitch but at least we can off the pitch so we will do that."
In a more positive update, the Reds boss indicated midfielder Jordan Henderson could return this weekend after concussion ruled him out of the defeat to Brentford.
Klopp added: "Hendo is back. He did exactly what he was allowed to do yesterday, big parts of team training without heading. From today on he is completely allowed to do everything. I think that's it."
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