After sitting out of Liverpool’s 0-0 draw with Southampton with a groin injury, Adam Lallana is set to miss Saturday’s clash with Sunderland.
Lallana was absent for the Reds’ trip to St Mary’s last weekend, after picking up an injury while on duty with England in the November international break.
Addressing the midfielder’s spell on the sidelines during coverage of the encounter, Klopp said he expected him to miss “two or three games.”
With Lallana not involved in preparations at Melwood on Thursday afternoon, this looks set to be the case.
Speaking to reporters before training, Klopp revealed that he “had a few players who couldn’t train properly in all sessions this week,” but all of those to start against the Saints were involved on Thursday.
Georginio Wijnaldum, Emre Can and Jordan Henderson are poised to continue their stint as Klopp’s three-man midfield, navigating Lallana’s absence.
Loris Karius, Nathaniel Clyne, Joel Matip, Dejan Lovren, James Milner, Sadio Mane, Philippe Coutinho and Roberto Firmino were also in training.
Furthermore, the likes of Simon Mignolet, Ragnar Klavan, Lucas Leiva, Alberto Moreno, Kevin Stewart, Divock Origi and youngsters Trent Alexander-Arnold, Ovie Ejaria and Ben Woodburn were also pictured.
Klopp hasn’t named an unchanged side in the Premier League for 40 games, but could be set to bring this spell to a conclusion on Saturday afternoon.
The 49-year-old was content with the Reds’ performance at St Mary’s, though their inability to convert chances was a major disappointment, having sent 15 shots towards Fraser Forster’s goal.
Lallana’s energy and creativity were certainly missing against his former club, but both Wijnaldum and Can have shone consistently throughout the season.
The draw with Southampton was the first time the pair had started together in a competitive fixture, and it is likely they need time to adjust to each other’s attributes and playing style.
With Lallana expected to be unavailable once again, David Moyes’ Sunderland will present another opportunity to work towards this.
The Black Cats are on a run of two consecutive victories, but still sit 19th in the Premier League table, having taking eight points from their first 12 games.
Klopp insisted that the away side were “favourites,” following Liverpool’s goalless draw last time out, but with his Reds still in excellent form, he will be expecting another positive display at Anfield.
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