Aston Villa's Philippe Coutinho has been ruled out for the rest of the season through injury.
Coutinho, 30, has managed just 20 Premier League outings this season and Villa boss Unai Emery has confirmed he will not feature again until next term. The news means the Brazil international will not face his old club Liverpool at Anfield on Saturday afternoon.
Liverpool take on Villa in a crucial Premier League game, with both teams fighting for European qualification. Jurgen Klopp's side are trying to book their place in next season's Champions League, while Emery's Villa are aiming for a top-seven finish.
Emery revealed the news at a press conference on Thursday. He said: "Philippe Coutinho is still injured, and the other players are ready to play. I talked with him this week; he’s a little bit unlucky with his month because I didn’t see him play matches like I want.
"But, of course, with the injuries coming, we have to be patient as well, now we are going to wait for his recovery. This year, he’s not going to play again until the end of this season because we are finishing in two weeks."
Liverpool fans will fondly remember Coutinho from his five-year spell on Merseyside. He was twice named as their Players' Player of the Season and Fans' Player of the Season before joining Barcelona in a £142million deal in January 2018.
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Villa goalkeeper Jed Steer, who will leave the club when his contract expires in the summer, is also unavailable, while Calum Chambers faces a late fitness test due to a sickness bug. Emery will be thankful that the rest of his squad is available for the big game.
He added: "We’re going to wait for the training session tomorrow morning and if everything is going well, the players available are the same players we had last week. Today Calum Chambers was sick but I think tomorrow he is going to be ready to try to travel with us."
In terms of Liverpool's injury list, Thiago Alcantara, Calvin Ramsay and Stefan Bajcetic are all out for the season. Klopp is hoping to have Naby Keita, Roberto Firmino and Darwin Nunez available for the Villa clash, but they all face late fitness tests.
Saturday afternoon's fixture is vital for both clubs. Liverpool are fifth in the table, one point behind both Newcastle in third and Manchester United in fourth having played a game more. Realistically, the Reds must win both of their last two games to keep their Champions League hopes alive. Their final fixture is against Southampton at St Mary's.
As for Villa, they are eighth in the table, one point behind Brighton in sixth having played two games more. They are also level on points with Tottenham in seventh.
Villa will qualify for next season's Europa League if they finish sixth, while seventh place is enough for a Europa Conference League spot. Emery would accept a place in either competition after inheriting a team hovering above the relegation zone in November.
