Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers has revealed that Roberto Firmino's back injury might be more serious than initially expected.
The Brazil international picked up a knock in his side's League Cup win over Carlise on Wednesday, but first-team coach Gary McAllister was confident at first that Firmino would be available for Saturday's home game against Aston Villa.
However, Rodgers has now made it clear that Firmino will miss this weekend's encounter after all and could face a spell on the sidelines, while Dejan Lovren and Christian Benteke will not feature either.
"All three will obviously not be available for the weekend," Rodgers said.
"Christian will probably be out for a little bit of time.
"Young Firmino landed awkwardly in the game the other night and there is another scan on his back, but he may have cracked a bone in his back. We'll see how he'll be over the coming weeks, but certainly he'll be unavailable for tomorrow.
"And Dejan Lovren will be out for probably a few weeks with his ligament injury. So, unfortunately, those three are unavailable.
"Daniel Sturridge will return to the squad."
Liverpool currently sit 13th in the table with eight points from six games, while Villa have collected just four points, but Rodgers has stressed they cannot underestimate Saturday's opponents.
"Jack Grealish is a great talent for Villa. He is one of the players we must keep a close eye on.
"Scott Sinclair is a player I know very well and I am happy to see him doing well again."
