Alisson Becker will be sidelined for up to two weeks with a hamstring injury with the Brazilian goalkeeper likely to miss games against Wolves, Midtjylland and Fulham.
Alisson felt his hamstring during Liverpool’s 1-1 draw with Brighton on Saturday and was replaced by 22-year-old Caoimhin Kelleher for Tuesday night’s 1-0 win over Ajax in the Champions League.
Kelleher produced a fine performance, including a crucial reflex save to deny Klaas-Jan Huntelaar as Liverpool booked their place in the knockout rounds.
And manager Jurgen Klopp provided an update on the extent of Alisson’s injury, emphasising it was an injury and not a Covid-19 infection or isolation.
He told BT Sport: ‘So, it’s not Covid, I think it’s something we have to mention when it’s not the case – and it’s not the case.
‘He told us after the last game that he felt in the 60th, 70th minute his hamstring. [We] did a scan, it’s a little one but enough for today and probably for another week.
‘We don’t know exactly, we have to wait and I’ve never heard about a hamstring that is only four or five days, so 10-14 days I think.’
Klopp sprung a surprise by favouring Kelleher, who had only previously made four appearances for the club, all in the FA Cup or EFL Cup, ahead of Adrian.
And after a clean sheet, Klopp was full of praise for the Irishman: ‘I really think Adrian has done a fantastic job for us, he kept a lot of clean sheets, played everywhere.
‘But now we needed the natural football playing ability of Caoimhin Kelleher.
‘He is a great shot-stopper as well. We made that decision but never know how they are going to cope. I am really happy with how calm he was and how good he was.
‘In the end, it is about keeping the ball out of the net and he did that twice and he did that in an exceptional manner. He will either sleep really well tonight or not at all.’
Liverpool host Wolves in the Premier League on Sunday evening and then conclude their Champions League group campaign with a trip to Denmark to play Midtjylland next Wednesday.
They then face three league matches in quick succession against Fulham, Tottenham and Crystal Palace and Klopp may have to choose between Adrian and Kelleher if Alisson doesn’t recover in time.
Alisson is just the latest injury concern for Liverpool, who currently have Trent Alexander-Arnold, Naby Keita, Joe Gomez, Virgil van Dijk, Xherdan Shaqiri, James Milner, Thiago Alcantara and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain sidelined.