Liverpool are set to be without Thiago Alcantara for the next month as the severity of the Spanish midfielder's hip flexor injury was revealed, while the Reds have also suffered another long-term injury blow.
Thiago suffered the problem in training in the past week, and was immediately ruled out of Monday's Merseyside derby by Jurgen Klopp.
The former Barcelona and Bayern Munich man joins a long list of Liverpool's absentees, and he now faces a race against time to be back for the Champions League last-16 second leg tie against Real Madrid on March 15.
Prior to that the Reds face Everton at Anfield on Monday before going to Newcastle in the Premier League, facing Real in the Anfield first leg on February 21 and then taking on Crystal Palace, Wolves, Manchester United and Bournemouth in the league.
The blow is the latest to befall the Reds during a disastrous campaign which currently sees them down in 10th place in the table, and already out of both the Carabao Cup and FA Cup having won both competitions last season.
The likes of Virgil van Dijk, Ibrahima Konate, Diogo Jota, Luis Diaz and Roberto Firmino have all been sidelined in recent weeks, although there is hope that Van Dijk, Jota and Firmino could return to the squad for the Everton clash having been pictured in training.
Of those three, Jota is believed to be the closest to a return, while the forgotten on-loan midfielder Arthur Melo - who has only played 13 minutes for the first-team since joining from Juventus in August - has also stepped up his recovery from a knee injury.
The Brazilian hasn't been registered for the Champions League squad, and neither has Scottish full-back Calvin Ramsay who is now, according to The Telegraph, set for an extended period on the sidelines with a long-term injury.
Right-back Ramsay arrived from Aberdeen last summer as an understudy to Trent Alexander-Arnold, but has only featured as a late substitute in the Champions League group stage win over Napoli and for the 90 minutes in November's Carabao Cup penalty shootout win over Derby County.
Klopp confirmed the Thiago injury at his press conference on Friday, but stopped short of confirming his expected absence.
“Thiago has some problems,” he said.
“I know the problem but I have to ask the medical department what I’m allowed to say!
“With the hip flexor, stuff like this, that’s it pretty much. He was not able to train.”
Liverpool have undergone a series of backroom changes over the past year, with the club's medical department coming under fire due to the frequent injuries being picked up by the squad.
Club doctor Jim Moxon left the Reds in August, with a high turnover of staff creating a less than ideal situation.
