An accumulation of injuries forced Liverpool back into the market during the final days of the summer transfer window - but already, their decision to acquire Arthur Melo on a season-long loan deal is beginning to look like the wrong call.
After deciding to keep their powder dry ahead of a potential move for Jude Bellingham next summer, the Reds pulled the trigger on an eleventh-hour swoop for Arthur, who was seen as an effective short-term fix to Liverpool's midfield conundrum.
However, the 26-year-old Brazilian midfielder has failed to impress since arriving on a season-long deal from Juventus and has hardly featured for Jurgen Klopp's side.
And now, the playmaker - who was absent from the squad that cruised past Rangers in the Champions League in midweek - is set for a spell on the sidelines with a muscle injury and will miss Liverpool's crunch Premier League clash with Arsenal.
Klopp confirmed the injury in his pre-match press conference when he revealed: "Curtis Jones was in training yesterday, looked good but that's not his first session, he's probably closest. Naby [Keita] and Ox [Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain] are still a little bit away and we have one new injury - Arthur."
Klopp added: "He got injured in the last session before Rangers, it's a normal situation, a muscle. [Andy] Robertson is also running and looks close but Curtis is the closest to returning."
Arthur's fresh setback is the latest issue in the midfielder's disappointing loan spell - a stint that has been so uninspiring that it was revealed last month that Klopp was reportedly toying over whether or not to terminate the year-long agreement in January.
Do you think Arthur will turn out to be a good signing for Liverpool? Let us know in the comments below!
That's according to Italian outlet Tuttomercatoweb, who claimed that Klopp had already seen enough of Arthur to decide that the midfield man is not the right fit for the Reds, who have since welcomed Thiago Alcantara back to the fold.
Klopp had initially talked up Arthur following the Reds' last-gasp swoop - although he had warned that patience would be required as the Juventus ace had not played much football.
Since then, Arthur has only made three appearances for the club, including just a solitary start in an EFL Trophy defeat to League Two outfit Rochdale.
Speaking back in January after the deal for Arthur was confirmed, Klopp said: "What does he bring? He's a really good footballer – I think we all agree on that... he can give rhythm, he's a really good passer, has speed with the ball, safe on the ball and, how I said, can demand rhythm, which is pretty important, really good in tight areas – all these kind of things. I like it a lot."
