Liverpool midfielder Curtis Jones has been ruled out of the Reds’ Premier League opener against Fulham, having picked up a calf injury last weekend.
Jones has been involved in the vast majority of Liverpool’s pre-season and recently said he felt he had “a bit of a point to prove” in the upcoming campaign.
The England under-21 international came off the bench in Liverpool’s Community Shield victory against Man City, and was set to feature in the friendly against Strasbourg the following day.
However, an injury kept him out of the game at Anfield, with one picture of Jones at the game showing him wearing a protective boot.
The problem has now been confirmed as a calf injury which, according to the Athletic‘s Caoimhe O’Neill, will keep him out of Liverpool’s first league game of the season at Craven Cottage on Saturday.
The report also claims the Reds are “awaiting specialist opinion” on the severity of the problem, and currently believe it could keep him sidelined for between two to four weeks.
It’s an untimely injury for Jones, who is one of six players This Is Anfield picked out as someone who has a point to prove this season.
The 21-year-old featured 27 times in all competitions last season, but is yet to showcase his ability on a consistent basis for the senior team.
Jones was also thwarted by several minor injuries last season, including a bizarre eye problem that occurred in training towards the end of last year.
He also went down with Covid-19 in December and struggled to string together a consistent run of starts.
Liverpool’s injury list is piling up, with Caoimhin Kelleher, Calvin Ramsay, Kostas Tsimikas, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Kaide Gordon and Diogo Jota all still yet to return to training.
Having missed the majority of pre-season, Alisson is now close to full fitness but faces a race against time to be ready for Fulham.
Ibrahima Konate is another who appeared to miss Wednesday’s training session at the AXA Training Centre, after being forced off with a knock against Strasbourg.
