Virgil van Dijk is set for a spell on the sidelines after his hamstring injury proved to be worse than first feared.
The Dutch defender, 31, was hauled off at half-time during Liverpool 's bruising 3-1 defeat away to Brentford on Monday. Manager Jurgen Klopp admitted post-match that he didn't think the issue was "serious" and that Van Dijk himself wanted to stay on.
Now, though, the Reds are set to be without their star centre-back for much longer than 45 minutes, as the Times report that his hamstring is in a worse condition than what initial assessments on Monday made out. An ever-present in Klopp's back line since the start of the Premier League season, Van Dijk could now miss games in three competitions in a huge blow to Liverpool's campaign.
The Reds welcome Wolves to Anfield on Saturday in the FA Cup third round before travelling to Brighton on January 14. A clash with Chelsea comes next before facing Wolves again, but this time away from home in the league.
That's followed by the small matter of a Merseyside derby clash with struggling neighbours Everton. Then comes a tough test on the road at potential title challengers Newcastle before hosting Real Madrid in their mouth-watering Champions League round-of-16 first leg on February 21.
Set to undergo tests to determine the severity of the injury, Van Dijk's last prolonged spell on the sidelines came in the 2020-21 season when he tore his ACL and endured nine painstaking months of rehabilitation. Unlike the shortage of replacements then, Klopp can call upon Ibrahima Konate, Joel Matip, Joe Gomez and Nat Phillips to fill in for the 31-year-old.
Have your say! Should Liverpool now sign a centre-back in January? Give us your verdict in the comments section.
The Reds boss didn't seem overly concerned with Van Dijk's condition after losing to Brentford, explaining: "Virgil felt a little bit the muscle and said it is fine, and he is a very good judge of these kinds of things. But I didn't want to take any risks. The physios looked quite happy when I said we don't take risks. It's not an injury, he just felt the intensity."
Matip was the man who replaced the Netherlands international in West London and partnered Konate for the second half, as Liverpool were already 2-0 down. Reds legend Jamie Carragher believes that 23-year-old Konate has now overtaken the more experienced Matip as Van Dijk's chief partner, telling Sky Sports : "I don't think it's the future, I think it's the right now.
"They're Liverpool's two best centre-backs, I think he was very unfortunate not to play in the World Cup final. He was brilliant in the Champions League final last season if you remember, against Real Madrid, and I think Liverpool have got a top player on their hands there, him and Virgil van Dijk right now is the best that Liverpool can go."
