It will be a case of one in, one out for Liverpool when they face Wolverhampton Wanderers on Saturday evening as Jurgen Klopp loses the services of one Dutch international but gains those of another.

The Liverpool manager will be without Virgil van Dijk for the hosting of Wolves in the FA Cup third round after the centre back received a “pretty harsh” diagnosis on a hamstring injury sustained during Monday’s 3-1 defeat to Brentford.

The 31-year-old was forced off at half-time in west London and now faces “more than a month” on the sideline as he recovers, according to Klopp. It will now be a race to be fit for Liverpool’s Champions League last-16 first leg at home to Real Madrid in mid-February.

It was a surprise for us and a big blow,” Klopp admitted. “The diagnosis was pretty harsh and we are talking about weeks, more than a month. It’s a muscle thing — nothing different to say — it was one sprint too much in that moment.

“It is hard for him but he played an incredible amount of games over the last years and we cannot use him on the pitch, only off the pitch, and we will do that. He never had an issue with muscles before and it just now happened. That’s how it is. We did nothing different.”

Van Dijk suffered a hamstring injury during the defeat to Brentford on Monday (Getty)

To counter the loss of Van Dijk, Liverpool’s latest recruit, 23-year-old Dutch striker Cody Gakpo acquired from PSV Eindhoven, is “in contention” to make his first appearance for the club. Gakpo formally signed on January 1 for an initial €40million but paperwork issues plus a post-World Cup holiday prevented him from featuring at Brentford.

Cody has been in for two training days,” Klopp confirmed. “It is really nice to have him, with our striker situation; he is a joy to watch. He is natural in the offensive part of the game and knows where the goal is. He is a good footballer, good in small spaces. He likes to finish from distance and has a good shooting technique. He's a good dribbler.

“He is in contention, definitely in the squad. This is the first possible moment he could play and it is perfect; usually [signings] are made later in January but this was early.

'Gakpo isn't jumping onto a running train'

Gakpo’s arrival — with Diogo Jota, Roberto Firmino and Luis Diaz all absent through injury — will offer Liverpool an attacking boost. The striker scored three goals for the Netherlands during the World Cup and Klopp highlighted how the timing of his move, with Liverpool facing an uphill battle for a top-four finish, demonstrates his character.

There were easier moments to join Liverpool,” Klopp said. “Last year, we were not qualified for the Champions League already but it looked like: ‘OK, that’ll happen.’ This year, we cannot guarantee that. But Cody never asked.

Liverpool are the current FA Cup holders but have experienced an inconsistent campaign so far (Getty)

“That happens from time to time, that players will ask ‘Do you think you’ll make the Champions League?’ and stuff like this. He can read the table himself, obviously, so he knew that it will be a tight decision.

“But what I really like about this is that he’s obviously a guy who doesn’t just want to jump on a running train, he wants to push the train. I like that a lot. It’s good for him as well, because it always helps in life if you are like that.”

Liverpool won last season’s FA Cup and given the five-day turnaround since their last game, Klopp will not overhaul his starting XI, saying they will “line up as strong as we can”. Wolves manager Julien Lopetegui has aired frustration at the scheduling with the Midlands club last playing on Wednesday, 48 hours later than their opponents, but said his team “have to be ready” anyhow.

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