Mamadou Sakho has dealt Liverpool a blow with the news that the centre-back could be out for up to four weeks.
The Frenchman was forced out of the Reds' 1-0 FA Cup win over Blackburn Rovers on Wednesday night with a hamstring injury. Initially, club medics hoped that the extent of Sakho's injury would ensure he missed only two weeks maximum.
But scan results have revealed that the damage is much more serious, and could see him miss out of at least five Liverpool games.
Sakho is certain to miss the Reds' upcoming Premier League clash at home to Newcastle United, as well as their trip to Wembley in next weekend's FA Cup semi-final against Aston Villa.
Yet the 25-year-old is also likely to miss trips to Hull City and West Brom, as well as a home clash against Queens Park Rangers.
Liverpool are hoping that Sakho could return in time for a clash to league frontrunners Chelsea on 10 May.
That means Brendan Rodgers will be forced to use between other centre-backs Dejan Lovren, Kolo Toure and Martin Skrtel - who returns from suspension after serving the final game of his three-match ban against Newcastle.
But speaking in his pre-match press conference, Rodgers insisted that his team will be able to manage without Sakho - who has impressed in Liverpool's back three over the last few months.
"The beauty of this team is the flexibility of it," said Rodgers. "I spoke to (Blackburn boss) Gary Bowyer on Friday night, talking tactics and about the game.
"He was interested about why we went to a four. For me it’s the great flexibility I have now. I can change the system depending on the opponent or the availability of players.
"You’ve got to give huge credit to the players and the amount of trust they have in the work because they can flip so easily between various systems and then perform them very well."