Liverpool have been dealt a major injury scare after Harvey Elliott limped off in the first half of their midseason friendly against Lyon on Sunday afternoon.
The 19-year-old was impressive throughout the first half an hour of Liverpool's clash with the French side in Dubai and was involved in the opening goal scored by Fabio Carvalho. He had a number of other bright moments, with Elliott's pressing standing out as Jurgen Klopp tries to make him a first-team regular.
However, Elliott was replaced after just 28 minutes, with Melkamu Frauendorf coming on in his absence. The teenager was seen shaking his head as he walked off the pitch.
Klopp had confirmed before the game that he was planning to change up his team at half-time and on the hour mark, suggesting that Elliott's withdrawal was enforced. The Reds were already missing a number of key players through injury and World Cup involvement, and an injury to Elliott is the last thing they need.
Luis Diaz has already returned to Merseyside after the winger felt some discomfort and the club didn't want to risk anything given the Colombian hasn't featured since October 9. Diaz suffered an injury in the Reds' 3-2 defeat at Arsenal and the break in the campaign allowed him to make some more recovery, but he has suffered a setback.
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Meanwhile, Curtis Jones was missing from the matchday squad that faced Lyon having not been pictured in recent training sessions in the Middle East. Diogo Jota and Arthur are the other two senior faces still out of action, with the latter expected to be missing until at least January, having featured just once in a Liverpool shirt following his loan move from Juventus in the summer.
Some positive news for the Reds was that Naby Keita was fit to start on the bench ahead of a possible return. The midfielder hasn't featured for the Reds all season and will be keen to get back to full fitness, with Liverpool in for a crucial second half of the campaign. Klopp's side travel to Aston Villa in their first fixture back after the World Cup.
Regardless, Elliott's withdrawal was an unwanted injury scare for the Reds, with it yet to be seen if it was just precautionary or something more sinister. Elliott missed three months of last season with a serious ankle injury and had only just started getting back to full speed at the start of the season, meaning any serious problem will be a blow.
Liverpool face AC Milan in their second and final Dubai Super Cup match on Friday, December 16, before returning to competitive action at Manchester City in the Carabao Cup on December 22.
