Jürgen Klopp has confirmed that Danny Ings' knee surgery in mid-week was successful and that he will "100 per-cent" remain a Liverpool player upon his return.
The striker sustained a season-ending impact injury to his right knee in the EFL Cup win over Tottenham Hotspur at Anfield last week and was forced to undergo surgery in London on Wednesday, which will sideline him for seven to nine months out.
It comes as a devastating setback for Ings, who was only just returning to full match sharpness from an anterior cruciate ligament sustained last October.
That kept him sidelined until May, when the 24-year-old came off the bench on the final day of the previous campaign, while he had only managed two run-outs this season prior to the clash with Spurs before picking up his latest injury.
Speaking at his pre-match press conference, Klopp explained Ings' situation is "not negative" but although it's "not a nice story of course" it is an "important story."
He explained that as because everyone who knows Ings "likes him" and that he has "never heard something bad about him", but said: "The only problem he had is that he had a really bad injury and he needed time to come back in to shape."
The German revealed that only within the "last two weeks" everyone could see that the former Burnley frontman was back and fully fit, and "then this [the injury] happened."
Klopp: Ings was "very, very close" to the team before injury
He declared that while it's "not nice" then it is "part of football" and that from the surgery onwards, it is "already a positive story" because it was "very positive" and "the rehab has started already."
"It's a moment when the club and the team really has to show how strong we are and we will wait for him," Klopp stated. He told journalists that the club will "give him all the time he [Ings] needs" during his lay-off.
He said that he will "be back again" and "will be a Liverpool player 100 per-cent", insisting that this is "the only thing" the club are "working on from this moment onwards."
The Reds boss acknowledged that his team "reacted like everybody would when something bad happens to a friend" and said that the club "want to show that we involve this of course."
He said that their respons to Ings is "not for public or something" but declared that they "involve this" when addressing the squad because the England international was "very, very close in the last few weeks to the team."
Klopp also hailed that Ings had "already helped us" in training and that he "helped us on his way back into his best shape" but stayed positive by saying that "everything will be good at the end" and that now it's "time to work on the comeback."
Ings took to Twitter and Instagram on Thursday night to thank supporters and others for their support, saying: "Blown away by all the messages, means the world. Life has two rules. No.1: Never quite. No.2: Always remember rule. #LFC"