Liverpool midfielder Thiago Alcantara is expected to be ruled out of action for at least six weeks after picking up a hamstring injury during the Reds' opening day 2-2 draw against Fulham at Craven Cottage.
The Spaniard was replaced inside the opening exchanges of the second-half after failing to play through the pain barrier once he sustained the strain. The Athletic report he has since undergone scans to determine the severity of the injury and it is bad news from both Thiago and Liverpool's perspective.
As a result, Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp will be unable to call upon one of his main men for some huge upcoming games as the Reds look to register a first win of the new season. Thiago will miss clashes against Crystal Palace, Manchester United, Bournemouth, Newcastle, Everton and Wolves.
In truth, the injury could not have come at a much worse time from Klopp's perspective given the German is now without four first-team midfielders after just one game this term. Thiago joins the crocked Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Curtis Jones and the ill Naby Keita on the Liverpool sick-list.
The mouting concerns over Klopp's midfield have sparked question marks over whether Liverpool could try to sign a reinforcement for the position - despite the Reds boss previously claiming all of the club's transfer dealings were finished for another window.
Pressed on the chances of a new face arriving to ease the woes in the middle of the park, Klopp replied: "Nobody could imagine that Curtis gets the thing he gets. It’s nothing serious but he’s a young boy and he’s had a stress reaction and bodies are like this.
"Naby is only ill and will definitely be back next week again. Oxlade (injury) happened early, and now Thiago. That’s not good.
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"We will see. A transfer must make sense now and in the long-term. We have eight midfielders. We still have enough midfielders. It’s not that we lack midfielders, it’s just some of them are injured."
“This isn’t a good situation, I don’t like it at all. We have to see how we react on that, but for sure not panic." This isn't the first time Thiago has been forced to spend a lengthy spell on the sidelines at Liverpool.
Since moving to Merseyside in 2020 from German giants Bayern Munich for a fee of £25m, the Spaniard has often found full-fitness hard to come by.
In two seasons at the club, Thiago has featured in 49 out of a possible 76 league games - hardly the numbers of an ever-present figure.
