Jordan Henderson is expected to miss the remainder of September after suffering a hamstring injury in the 2-1 win over Newcastle, following scans last week.
It was a setback that prompted Liverpool into late action in the transfer window, with Henderson joining a ridiculous list of injuries so early into the season.
With the captain forced off midway through the second half against Newcastle, the club quickly finalised a deal to bring in Juventus midfielder Arthur on a season-long loan on deadline day.
The following day, medical staff conducted tests on Henderson’s hamstring, with the midfielder also undergoing a scan to reveal the extent of his injury.
According to The Athletic‘s James Pearce, the issue is only a minor strain, but regardless, Henderson is still expected to miss three weeks of action.
That rules him out of the next four games against Napoli, Wolves, Ajax and Chelsea, and almost certainly England duty, too, with the Three Lions due to play Italy and Germany later this month.
Henderson can be expected back in contention for the visit of Brighton on October 1, by which point Jurgen Klopp will be hoping his injury situation has eased significantly.
Thiago has already returned to full training following a hamstring problem of his own, while Joel Matip and Diogo Jota were both back for the 0-0 draw with Everton.
Fabio Carvalho suffered a dead leg in the Merseyside derby and it remains to be seen whether he will make the trip to Naples for Wednesday’s Champions League opener, but the Portuguese is not due out for long.
Caoimhin Kelleher and Calvin Ramsay are nearing a return having yet to feature this season, and Ibrahima Konate‘s timescale for return is similar to Henderson’s.
Naby Keita and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain are both long-term absentees, though, with the pair left out of the Champions League group stage squad entirely.
In Henderson’s absence, there is chance that Klopp turns to Arthur for his debut against Napoli, with Fabinho, Thiago, Harvey Elliott, James Milner and potentially Curtis Jones his other options.
Fabinho appears the only guaranteed starter at this stage, though Elliott has impressed in his recent outings.
