Liverpool suffer another major injury blow - star man could be out for a while

Liverpool were already without 8 first team players against Manchester United last night, and the club are believed to be concerned another midfielder could be out for a lengthy period.

Naby Keita has joined the likes of Thiago Alcantara, Curtis Jones, and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain on the injury list.

And according to Goal, there is concern that the Guinea international could be sidelined for a while.

Liverpool are yet to corroborate the report, with Jürgen Klopp revealing last night that further scans need to be taken into account before he can confirm the extent of the injury.  

Before last night’s match, the German stated Liverpool would dip into the transfer market if Keita were to leave the club this summer, but he didn’t see a potential departure for the 27-year-old as feasible.

If the injury is as serious as the report from Goal has insinuated, Liverpool could sign a new midfielder this summer after all.

Klopp has long maintained that Liverpool will only bring in a new man in the middle of the park if the right one becomes available. They won’t acquire anyone’s services for the sake of it. This has long been the way Liverpool have approached transfers.

Last night on Monday Night Football for Sky Sports, Jamie Carragher cited the Red's January 2018 signing of Virgil van Dijk as an example.

Instead of bringing in a centre-back in the summer of 2017 when they really needed one, they were patient in their approach to sign the Dutchman.

It is widely believed Liverpool are taking the same approach when it comes to midfielders, they are waiting to sign Jude Bellingham next summer.

But with yet another engine room man potentially side-lined for a long time, Liverpool could be sailing too close to the wind with this one.

Their midfield has looked markedly weak during the opening rounds of Premier League fixtures, and if they continue to lose engine room battles, they’ll lose further ground on title rivals Manchester City.

If Keita really is out for an extended period, Liverpool absolutely need to sign a replacement.