Liverpool winger Luis Diaz could be out of action until March after suffering a setback in his recovery from a knee injury.
Diaz, 25, has arguably been Liverpool's most consistent player since joining the Merseyside club from Porto in January.
After an impressive debut season at Anfield, Diaz has struggled for fitness in his first full campaign at Anfield.
He has not featured for Jurgen Klopp's side since suffering a knee injury in a 3-2 defeat to Arsenal on October 9.
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There were hopes that Diaz would return to full fitness in time for the resumption of the Premier League season on Boxing Day, with the Colombia international travelling with the Liverpool squad to their warm-weather training camp in Dubai.
But those hopes were dashed on Saturday after it emerged that Diaz had suffered a setback in his recovery from the injury.
Diaz has travelled back to the UK for further assessment but it is feared he may require surgery, which could rule him out for several months.
"Luis Diaz will undergo surgery tomorrow to recover from the lateral collateral ligament injury in the knee," tweeted Colombian journalist Pipe Sierra.
"Liverpool expects the Colombian to play again in March."
Klopp: Diaz injury a big disappointment
The news of Diaz's latest setback is a major blow to Klopp, who described it as a "smash in the face".
"Yeah, he was not in the best possible place," Klopp said after Liverpool’s 3-1 defeat to Lyon in Dubai.
"It's clear it's a big disappointment for all of us, for him as well.
"It was a non-situation in training, honestly – nothing, felt something. [He] didn’t feel a lot next day but we wanted to be really cautious and said, 'OK, come on, let's have a look.'
"Yeah, then the news came and it was a proper smash in the face. But that's it now."
Topics: Liverpool, Luis Diaz, Football, Premier League
Rory O'Callaghan