Matt Beard has confirmed Liverpool are set to be without Shanice van de Sanden for up to two months after the winger picked up an injury ahead of last week's abandoned Women's Super League clash with Chelsea.
The game at Kingsmeadow was called off with less than seven minutes on the clock due to a frozen pitch, with Beard revealing last Wednesday than Van de Sanden had felt a twinge in her knee after slipping in the warm up. The Dutch international was absent from Liverpool's second consecutive meeting with Chelsea on Sunday, in which a Sam Kerr hat-trick saw the Reds dumped out of the FA Cup in the fourth round.
And the Liverpool boss confirmed after the game that the winger is now set to spend a considerable spell on the sidelines as she battles her way back to fitness.
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"Unfortunately, we have lost Shanice for anywhere up to two months, which is a massive blow," Beard told club media. "We are looking for another attacking player if we can get someone in before the window closes.
"It’s a tough position to fill in January. We are hopeful we can get one in, but if we can’t then we will work with what we’ve got."
Liverpool held off FA Cup holders Chelsea for 32 minutes on Sunday before an expert volley from Kerr broke the deadlock at Kingsmeadow. The Australian doubled the hosts' lead shortly after the break before a stunning strike from Ceri Holland halved the deficit for the Reds.
Kerr restored Chelsea's two-goal advantage in the 79th minute before Gemma Bonner's late effort set up a nervy finish in the capital. But it wasn't to be for the Reds, who crash out of the competition in the Fourth Round.
"I was frustrated with a few things," Beard said, reflecting on the game. "For Chelsea’s second goal there was a foul on Ceri Holland in the build-up, and the third goal there was also a foul on Ceri.
"I felt we should have had a penalty for a handball, so that was frustrating. Still, we’ve got to do better defending the crosses because Sam is such a good finisher.
"We can take a lot of confidence and positivity, especially from our second-half performance. We just looked scared in the first half and that was frustrating because we have trained really well in the week. That was our Achilles heel in the first half, but I thought it was a good cup tie, a good game and congratulations to Chelsea and good luck to them in the next round."
The Reds now have a week to recover before returning to WSL action against 10th-placed Reading next Sunday, with Beard confident his side can bounce back from a disappointing few weeks against the Royals.
"I don’t think we are a million miles away from the top sides," he said. "This is a tough league and we probably got the toughest draw in the FA Cup.
"We have got two home games now against Reading and Leicester City – two massive games for us. For the most part of the season, I’ve been pleased with what we have produced and how we have progressed, apart from Manchester United away and Everton at Anfield, when we were poor."
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