Liverpool have suffered a serious injury after Harvey Elliott broke his foot during the international break, sources have reported.
The Reds have had a near-perfect start to the season under Arne Slot, winning all three of their games without conceding a goal and are currently second in the Premier League table.
On Saturday they will face Nottingham Forest at Anfield, but they will be without one of their attackers due to injury.
Elliott, who impressed under Jurgen Klopp at the end of last season, has said The Telegraphbroke his foot during an international match while training with the England Under-21 team.
The news is a major setback for Liverpool, who now have a tougher schedule ahead of them as they enter the Champions League.
Liverpool have suffered an injury blow as Harvey Elliott reportedly broke his foot during an international match
Elliott had joined the England Under-21 team but did not play in either match at half-time
He has played just seven minutes for Arne Slot’s Liverpool this season, but the expectation was that his playing time would increase
The report revealed that Elliott experienced discomfort while training with the England team during the holidays and that he went to the club for further assessment after returning to Liverpool earlier than planned.
Elliott did not feature in either of the Young Lions’ matches at half-time – a 0-0 draw with Northern Ireland and a 4-1 win over Austria.
It is believed he will be looking to return to action after the next international break, as Liverpool play Chelsea on October 20.
He has not played a single game for Liverpool this season, featuring for just seven minutes in the 2-0 win over Brentford.
But it was expected that he would get more playing time as the Champions League kicks off next week and Liverpool visit AC Milan.
Now, however, they must find solutions to fill the void Eliott will leave in his absence, with the 21-year-old expected to miss two European games and four Premier League matches, plus a Carabao Cup match.
Liverpool play Forest on Saturday and Milan on Tuesday, followed by a match on Saturday against Bournemouth a few days later.
On Wednesday they host West Ham in the Carabao Cup and on Saturday they face Wolves in the Premier League.
Then there is a Champions League match against Bologna on the programme, before the Reds travel to Crystal Palace on Saturday for their final game before the next half-term.
Slot’s team has a busy schedule ahead of them, including league, Champions League and Carabao Cup matches
Slot has won all three of his matches as Liverpool manager without conceding a goal
Liverpool are also currently without Curtis Jones through injury, meaning Slot has few options in midfield.
Dominik Szoboszlai and Alexis Mac Allister have done the heavy lifting in that area this season, while Ryan Gravenberch has excelled in a more defensive role.