Joe Allen is set for an extended spell on the sidelines through injury, and will miss Liverpool's trip to Aston Villa along with Dejan Lovren this weekend, Jürgen Klopp has revealed.

The pair sustained knocks in Saturday's 2-2 Anfield draw with Sunderland in the Barclays Premier League and were forced off before half-time

Though Lovren could be back as early as next week, with the Reds resuming their Europa League campaign against Augsburg, Klopp explained that Allen is absent for the foreseeable future - despite not specifying the length of time he will spend on the treatment table.

Despite the in-form midfielder's setback, the German had more positive news on the fitness of centre-backs Steven Caulker and Martin Skrtel, as well as offering updates on attacking trio Philippe Coutinho, Daniel Sturridge and Divock Origi.

German says Allen set to spend "a while" out injured

Speaking to journalists at his pre-match press conference on Friday, Klop declared that Allen is "out for a while" and said that he is "a good example" of the club's misfortune with injuries in recent weeks.

He described the Welshman as being in "a really good way" as they "tried to manage [his] playing time" after the injury he suffered from early on after Klopp's appointment.

Allen's recent revival has been cut short by a suspected hamstring injury. (Picture: Getty Images)
Allen's recent revival has been cut short by a suspected hamstring injury. (Picture: Getty Images)

"Then he was in good shape, got a little knock on the shoulder, played against Sunderland and I think in the perfect moment of his shape, the muscle stops," added the German manager, who insisted Allen's injury is "not because of [too much] intensity" but just "how it is" in this moment.

He said that in "an ideal world" they would have "a long-term pre-season, then play without injuries and nothing will happen" but declared that Liverpool will "have to wait a little bit" for Allen because his problem is "a muscle thing."

Skrtel and Caulker recoveries coming along well

However, having had his options in central defence severely depleted in recent months, the Reds boss stated that Lovren won't be available for their game at Villa Park, but said he will "hopefully [be back] for the next game" and said it's "not a big thing" but rather "more about a strange feeling in the muscle." 

He said it's "the same" injury he had previously suffered from, saying he was "pushed back" with the knock at Villa, but dismissed it as "not a real serious thing" despite admitting he has "no opportunity" to play this Sunday.

On Martin Skrtel, who has yet to feature this calendar year for the Reds, Klopp said the Slovakian is "back on the pitch outside" but "needs his time" to recover, whilst adding that Caulker "had a back problem" which caused him to miss their FA Cup fourth-round defeat to West Ham United in midweek.

He said after that, the on-loan defender was "still in rehab" but said he "trained normal" on Thursday and will therefore be "available" for their encounter with Remi Garde's men.

Trio aren't at full fitness yet, Klopp hints

Tuesday night's gut-wrenching loss at the Boleyn Ground, which saw the Reds dumped out in the final minutes of extra-time with a penalty shoot-out looming, did at least see the return of the trio of Sturridge, Coutinho and Origi.

The Brazilian started his first game since early January, scoring a stunning free-kick in the early minutes of the second-half, whilst Origi and Sturridge both played over an hour after coming on in the 59th minute.

Coutinho celebrated his return from injury with an excellent goal. (Picture: Getty Images)
Coutinho celebrated his return from injury with an excellent goal. (Picture: Getty Images)

But despite expressing his delight at their returns, Klopp insisted that the triumvirate won't be rushed back into the starting line-up despite their troubles in front of goal.

"Of course, it's very important," said Klopp, when speaking about the impact of having the three forwards back in contention, before saying that the "situation in the squad is difficult" because "a few players had a lot of games, maybe too many, and a few players had injuries."

He called it "completely normal" for players not to come back in their "best shape" or to be at their "100 per cent best career shape" after a lay-off, saying that these players "need to come in" and explained it's "not that now they have come back, we will bring them all together and see how far they can go."

Klopp said the "positive view on the situation" is that Sturridge, Coutinho and Origi are now back, which he said is "really good" but warned that they have "have to manage the minutes" as he said that Coutinho "played a little bit less" after coming off on 55 minutes, and said he has "had the normal sessions with the team that didn't play" and that "all of them are in a good way" which is "great news" for the team.

Sturridge "feels good" after West Ham game

Sturridge played for the first time since December 6th in London, spending a spell out of action with a hamstring problem, and Klopp insisted that the striker has recovered well from his first game back and could feature at Villa.

"He played around 70 minutes at West Ham," he said, before revealing that he had "normal recovery afterwards in training" and declared he "could have trained a little bit more" if he hadn't have played so long, but said he "was involved in all the things with the players who played the full time" against the Hammers, such as Origi.

Klopp welcomed Sturridge back for the first time in over three months in midweek. (Picture: Getty Images)
Klopp welcomed Sturridge back for the first time in over three months in midweek. (Picture: Getty Images)

He said it was "good" for Sturridge to play, saying the prolific England international "feels good" and vowed he has "heard nothing else" about his recovery - but also said they "have to think about how we can manage the minutes and things like this" despite the player making "a big step in the last week."

Klopp told journalists on Friday morning that he had made "no final decisions on the starting line-up" and said "until now, everything is like it should be."

Brannagan has lost a bit of weight, reveals Klopp

The Reds boss also explained that Jordan Rossiter, who has only played once under the new manager so far, "needs time" because he's "still not in team training" and said that Cameron Brannagan, who was absent on Tuesday, was "ill for one week."

He said that when he saw the teenager before their journey to the capital to take on West Ham, Brannagan had "lost two or three kilos" and was "not too good" but said he's "back" now and joked that the club "have to feed him for a few days and then he'll be available."

VAVEL Logo
About the author
Charlie Malam
Digital Sports Writer at the Daily Express. First-class Staffordshire University Sports Journalism graduate. Formerly VAVEL UK's Liverpool FC editor and Deputy Editor-in-Chief. Contributor since June 2014.