Liverpool defender Joel Matip is set to miss the rest of the season due to an ankle ligament injury.
Matip suffered an injury during the Reds victory against Tottenham Hotspurs on Thursday after a challenge with Heung-Min Son and was subsequently substituted at half time.
Read Also: Liverpool sign Schalke centre back on loan.
With fellow centre backs Virgil van Dijk and Joe Gomez also out with long-term injuries, Liverpool signed defenders Ben Davies from Preston and Ozan Kabak from Schalke on Monday just hours before the transfer window closed.
“Unfortunately, we found out now after everybody looked at it that Joel will be out for the rest of the season,” Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp told media.
“But he will be ready for the start of the next pre-season and finally everything will be sorted.”
England international Jordan Henderson and fellow midfielder Fabinho have deputised at centre back in recent weeks, with youngsters Nat Phillips and Rhys Williams also filling in.
“The situation is just, the season started and Joel was injured when the season started, unfortunately,” Klopp said. “We should not forget that at Schalke when he was there, he played pretty much all the time completely through, he never had something.
“Then he was unlucky with a Koulibaly challenge against Napoli in the last second, in the Everton game kind of things, a little bit with the foot here and there. If something started and then the situation is like our situation – that nobody can really wait because of our situation with Virgil out and Joe out – we always had to try to find the first moment when he is able to play again.
“It was really unlucky because it was a brilliant challenge he made actually; he saved our life in that moment in the Tottenham game when he won the challenge against Son.
“But he injured his ankle and played the game on and now is out for the season, so you can imagine how much he tried to stay on the pitch and tried to help us.
“We will wait for him. He has now the rest of this season, then the summer, then the pre-season to get ready again and he will be ready again.”
