Liverpool midfielder Adam Lallana has suffered an injury setback which rules him out of the FA Cup fourth round tie at home to West Brom.
The England international missed almost four months at the start of the campaign with a thigh strain sustained in a pre-season friendly but after just seven appearances he has been sidelined again by a minor muscle tear.
“Adam Lallana has a little issue which I think, pretty sure, keeps him out for the next game,” said manager Jurgen Klopp.
“It is not a big one but it is how it is when you have a long injury.
“Adam had a long injury and then there comes a few things because he needs time again to adapt to the intensity of a Premier League game. We tried to be careful with that but obviously so far it didn’t work very well.”
Lallana has managed just one start since returning at the end of November and played a total of 221 minutes.
Klopp on Henderson: “We have to think about it. Adam Lallana has a little issue and I’m pretty sure he will be out of the next game.”
— James Pearce (@JamesPearceEcho) January 26, 2018
His absence this weekend restricts Klopp’s options in midfield as James Milner has a dead leg.
Captain Jordan Henderson looks set to return after a month out with a hamstring injury and it could also present a chance to 18-year-old Ben Woodburn, who has played just 45 minutes of senior football this season in September’s Carabao Cup defeat at Leicester.
Woodburn had initially been lined up for a loan move in January but the sale of Philippe Coutinho to Barcelona, coupled with the likelihood Klopp will not replace him in this window, may present an opportunity for the Wales international.
