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Jurgen Klopp has confirmed that Fabinho will be absent when Liverpool make the trip to Manchester City next Sunday.
And the Reds coach has hinted that Andy Robertson could be a surprising solution to his center-back problems against West Ham on Saturday.
The champions visit Etihad for one of the biggest matches on the calendar next week, but they will do so amid a defensive crisis from injuries to Virgil van Dijk and Fabinho.
Joel Matip could still be approved for the November 8 game, but Klopp confirmed that Brazilian midfielder Fabinho, who has been forced to replace in a new role in the absence of Van Dijk and Matip, will be ruled out until after the international break. . .
Klopp, however, is hopeful the 27-year-old can return to the fold when the Reds are back in action against Leicester at Anfield on November 21.
Klopp said: “It doesn’t matter if it’s a ‘minor’ hamstring injury or not, but after the international break it will surely come back.
Listen to the latest Blood Red podcast before West Ham’s visit to Anfield HERE
“We don’t know exactly when. But yeah, it’s a minor thing, not something that will knock him out for years.”
With Fabinho and Matip away from West Ham on Saturday night, Klopp has several options available at the heart of his defense.
Nineteen-year-old Rhys Williams replaced Fabinho during Tuesday’s 2-0 win over FC Midtjylland in the Champions League, while fellow teenagers Billy Koumetio and Nat Phillips also train with the senior team.
Klopp hinted that several of his midfielders, as well as left-back Robertson, have been considered for David Moyes’s game against Hammers in the middle.
“I’ve known Nat for the longest time and have been very happy with his development since I’ve known him,” Klopp said.
“He has made great strides and is an exceptional character. The small problem is that we were all convinced at that time [he would leave].
“There were a lot of clubs interested in him, but the coronavirus crisis meant that in the end no one had the money to do it.
“To be honest, we expected him to leave the club, but thank God he didn’t. That’s the reason he’s not on the Champions League squad, the only reason.
“So now he cannot be on the bench in the Champions League, but he is available for the Premier League, like all three, but now we have to make a decision.”
“We have other options like Henderson, or Gini (Wijnaldum) or James (Milner), or Robbo, he can also play as a central midfielder.
“Not all of them are smaller than Javier Mascherano, for example, and he played quite well in that position (for Barcelona).
“So yes, we still have one or two options and one of them we will choose.
“Which one? You’ll have to turn on your TV tomorrow, or if you’re lucky enough to be at the stadium, then watch it there.”
The game against the Londoners marks the first of seven between October 31 and December 1, which is a particularly congested schedule given the international break that occurs in mid-November.
Klopp compared the situation to the typically hectic December period and called the current campaign “the most challenging in history” as Liverpool aim to retain their title.
He said: “It is different from anything I have experienced, different from anything every coach has in the Premier League.
“It has an impact but the boys enjoy playing, they just need to be prepared and that’s my job to make decisions.
“Rotating here or there to help everyone on the field in the best way possible.
“So it is very influential at the moment and it will be interesting to see that after this incredibly intense season we have a European Championship.”
“So there are triple headlines on international breaks and things like that, so October and November are like December.
“This is why it is so challenging. In the end, we have all the information on the table, the schedules are there and we have to deal with that.
“I hope I am the only one to be honest because we all hope that time and life will change again, people can return to the stadium and everything can return to normal.
“We are waiting for vaccines, medicines, whatever, solutions, but for now, it is our life and we take care of it.”
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