Jurgen Klopp already had enough of a selection headache without Darwin Nunez sticking his neck out.
Nunez's mindless red card for butting the pesky Joachim Andersen in Monday's disappointing 1-1 Premier League draw against Crystal Palace means the Liverpool striker is sidelined for at least the next three games.
But while Klopp scratches his head at how best to approach next week's increasingly seismic visit to Manchester United, there's one team where the Reds boss has little problem in determining who should be selected.
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Liverpool's absentee XI. And here's who would - or rather wouldn't - be lining up for such a team, with few if any expected to be back in time for the Old Trafford clash next Monday.
Goalkeeper - Caoimhin Kelleher
Kelleher couldn't get past the first day of pre-season training at Kirkby in early July when he complained of an issue that was seemingly first suffered when on international duty with the Republic of Ireland. He's expected to be back before the end of the month.
Defence - Calvin Ramsay, Ibrahima Konate, Joel Matip
Teenage right-back Ramsay has had to wait for his first involvement since his summer arrival from Aberdeen with Liverpool instead choosing to address an old injury issue. Konate suffered a knee injury in the home friendly against Strasbourg a fortnight ago and will be out for the foreseeable, while Klopp expects Matip to be missing for at least the next fortnight with a groin problem.
Midfield - Thiago Alcantara, Curtis Jones, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Kaide Gordon
Klopp confirmed on Friday that at best it will be another month before Thiago features having strained his hamstring at Fulham on the opening Premier League weekend. Curtis Jones has suffered a stress reaction that has already kept him out for more than two weeks with no timescale set for his return, while Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain's hamstring issue, picked up more than a month ago in Singapore, has been confirmed as "serious" by Klopp and could keep him out for a further extended period. Kaide Gordon missed the start of pre-season and hasn't been seen since joining up with the squad for the training camp in Austria.
Attack - Roberto Firmino, Darwin Nunez, Diogo Jota
Jota has been out for five weeks having aggravated a hamstring problem suffered when on international duty with Portugal in June. Firmino missed out against Palace as a precaution with a muscle complaint, while Nunez will sit out the next three games minimum through suspension after his show of violent conduct on Monday.
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