Liverpool and Jurgen Klopp have been desperately unlucky with injury problems this season which have seen them slip down the Premier League table after a promising start to all but hand their title over to Pep Guardiola's Manchester City.

Virgil van Dijk and Joe Gomez have both been long-term absentees at centre-back, which has left the Reds defence vulnerable throughout the season and forced Klopp to experiment with a large number of defensive partnerships.

Recent weeks have seen the German manager deploy club captain Jordan Henderson at the back, with fellow centre-back options Fabinho and Joel Matip also sidelined.

However, the Reds' latest injury setback is a big one, as the England international has now been ruled out with an injury of his own, which is expected to keep him out until April at least, as he requires surgery.

Henderson was one of very few senior options available to Klopp at centre-back, with other options Ozan Kabak, Ben Davies, Nathaniel Phillips and Rhys Williams all extremely low on Premier League experience.

Therefore, unless something big changes at Liverpool in the next few weeks, it could well be season over for Klopp's side, who have already fallen to sixth in the Premier League after four straight losses in the top-flight.

Granted, they are still going strong in the Champions League and hold a 2-0 advantage over RB Leipzig ahead of the second leg, but it is difficult to see them making it much further in the competition if their current form and injury problems persist.

Klopp will need some leaders in his side to step up in the absence of Henderson and help to maintain the quality that the 30-year-old demands both on and off the pitch, otherwise the prospect of no European football next season could quite easily become a reality for the Merseyside outfit.

With Fabinho having only just recovered from injury himself, it seems likely that Klopp will be forced into a new centre-back partnership against Sheffield United on Sunday, which could be an indicator of how the rest of this season will pan out for Liverpool.

AND, in other news... Klopp can finally sign his Coutinho heir at LFC in £63.5m-rated whizz loved by Del Piero