Trent Alexander-Arnold is set for a few weeks on the sidelines after picking up a knee injury in his side's 2-0 victory away to Arsenal in the FA Cup third round this past weekend.
Alexander-Arnold is believed to have suffered his injury during a duel with Arsenal forward Gabriel Martinelli in the 68th minute of the FA Cup tie, with the defender seen limping in pain right after.
Despite feeling great discomfort, Alexander-Arnold battled on and set up Liverpool's opener as his free-kick was unintentionally headed in for an own goal by Arsenal's Jakub Kiwior.
Retrospectively, taking off the England international may have been the smarter move for Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp to make, as losing his star right-back is a major blow to the side moving forward. However, as Alexander-Arnold was able to play on and contribute to Liverpool's win, the decision to let him stay on the pitch was possibly vindicated.
The 25-year-old has been in impressive form this season, replicating the performance levels he showed in previous trophy-winning campaigns for Liverpool.
Speaking before Liverpool's Carabao Cup semi-final first leg with Fulham, Assistant Manager, Pep Ljinders, confirmed that Alexander-Arnold hyperextended his knee in the win over Arsenal.
Ljinders said: "He has a little tear in the lateral ligament of his knee, and he will need time to recover. He had a scan, and he will be out for a few weeks, so let's see after that."
Klopp's assistant went on to express what Liverpool will lack in Alexander-Arnold's absence. He commented: "This guy was decisive in all the games and was the one who created constantly for us from deep and gave the team a high level of flexibility. We will really miss him."
Alexander-Arnold's injury comes at a crucial period in the season for Liverpool, as the Reds currently sit top of the Premier League with a three-point cushion over second-placed Aston Villa. Reigning champions Manchester City are five points behind the leaders but have a game in hand.
Liverpool will first feel the absence of their right back in Wednesday's Carabao Cup tie with Fulham at Anfield and will be without him for the return leg in two weeks' time. Alexander-Arnold will also miss his side's away visit to Bournemouth in the Premier League as well as Liverpool's FA Cup fourth-round matchup with either Norwich or Bristol Rovers.
There is an outside shot of Alexander-Arnold making his way back for Liverpool's Premier League clash with Chelsea at the end of January, but that seems doubtful at this time. The likelihood is him returning to the pitch for one of Liverpool's first two league games in February, against Arsenal or Burnley, respectively.
Mohamed Salah is also going to be unavailable to Klopp over the next few weeks as the Egyptian forward will be away representing his nation at the Africa Cup of Nations in Ivory Coast. The tournament kicks off on January 13th and will run until February 11th, with Egypt viewed as one of the stronger teams in the competition.
Therefore, Liverpool will be forced to deploy a very different right-hand side for the remainder of January and possibly the start of February. 20-year-old Conor Bradley is set to fill in for Alexander-Arnold at right back whilst Cody Gakpo or Diogo Jota could step into Salah's spot.
Alexander-Arnold and Salah are undoubtedly regarded as two of Liverpool's best and most important players so losing them both at the same time will present a stern challenge for Klopp and his players.
Additionally, Klopp will have to proceed ahead without Japanese midfielder, Wataru Endo, as he will be competing at the AFC Asian Cup in Qatar, which is scheduled to run from January 12th until February 10th. Japan are regarded as one of the leading contenders for the tournament.
Also, limiting Klopp's options at this moment are current injuries to Dominik Szoboszlai, Andy Robertson, Kostas Tsimikas, Stefan Bajcetic and Thiago Alcantara.
