LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND - Saturday, September 12, 2020: Liverpool’s Fabio Henrique Tavares 'Fabinho' during the opening FA Premier League match between Liverpool FC and Leeds United FC at Anfield. The game was played behind closed doors due to the UK government’s social distancing laws during the Coronavirus COVID-19 Pandemic. Liverpool won 4-3. (Pic by David Rawcliffe/Propaganda)

Fabinho set to miss Man City clash with midfielder out of Brazil squad

Fabinho has been withdrawn from the Brazil squad for the November international break, with the midfielder now expected to miss the next three Liverpool games.

The No. 3 pulled up with a hamstring injury in Tuesday night’s Champions League clash with Midtjylland at Anfield, and underwent a scan to determine the severity the following morning.

According to the Mirror‘s David Maddock, this showed that Fabinho has suffered at worst a grade two tear, with hopes that he will be back for the visit of Leicester in the Premier League on November 21.

While this appears to be largely based on conjecture, with no confirmation from the club or other sources, this is as expected given Jurgen Klopp‘s assessment earlier this week.

Fabinho was never feared to be out for the long term, but a statement from the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) indicates that he will miss the next three games for Liverpool.

The 27-year-old has been replaced by Everton midfielder Allan for Brazil’s upcoming meetings with Venezuela (November 13) and Uruguay (November 17), with the club’s medical department informing the CBF that Fabinho‘s involvement would be “impossible.”

He will therefore sit out Liverpool’s clashes with West Ham (October 31), Atalanta (November 3) and Man City (November 8), which is a big blow with Virgil van Dijk already sidelined.

LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND - Saturday, October 17, 2020: Liverpool’s Joel Matip during the FA Premier League match between Everton FC and Liverpool FC, the 237th Merseyside Derby, at Goodison Park. The game was played behind closed doors due to the UK government’s social distancing laws during the Coronavirus COVID-19 Pandemic. The game ended in a 2-2 draw. (Pic by David Rawcliffe/Propaganda)

Klopp is hopeful Joel Matip will return in the near future, but the manager has stressed that he will not rush back any of his injured players given the intensity of the Reds’ schedule this season.

One of Jordan Henderson or Rhys Williams is likely to partner Joe Gomez against West Ham this weekend, with Matip set to be considered for the trip to Atalanta in the Champions League.

The hope is that Fabinho will be back to take on Leicester, with the Brazilian one of Klopp’s strongest performers so far this season and an integral player either in midfield or defence.

A grade two hamstring tear has a projected recovery time of four to eight weeks, but with specialist treatment from Liverpool’s world-class medical department it is likely to be a shorter timeframe.