Jurgen Klopp suggest one of Jordan Henderson, Gini Wijnaldum, James Milner or Andrew Robertson could play at centre-back; watch Liverpool vs West Ham live on Sky Sports Main Event from 5pm on Saturday; kick-off 5.30pm
Friday 30 October 2020 22:34, UK
Jurgen Klopp says Fabinho has not suffered a long-term injury but has ruled the Brazilian out of Liverpool's match against West Ham on Saturday.
Fabinho was substituted in the first half of Tuesday's 2-0 win over Midtjylland in the Champions League with a suspected hamstring injury.
The 27-year-old was withdrawn from Brazil's squad for next month's World Cup qualifiers on Thursday but Klopp is hopeful he has avoided a long-term injury and should be back after the international break.
"Fabinho is not in, that is clear. He has a little injury. He will be out for the weekend and probably slightly longer," said Klopp.
Fabinho's absence could leave Liverpool with just one recognised senior centre-back, Joe Gomez, available for this weekend's match at Anfield.
Virgil van Dijk is expected to miss the majority of the season after undergoing knee surgery on the anterior cruciate ligament damage he suffered against Everton in the Merseyside derby, while Joel Matip has not featured since the 2-2 draw at Goodison Park after having a scan on a muscle problem.
Rhys Williams replaced Fabinho against Midtjylland and could make his Premier League debut against West Ham, while Sepp van den Berg and Nathaniel Phillips are other options in central defence.
Klopp admits the current defensive issues are a challenge but also sees it as an opportunity for others to impress.
"Enjoying is not exactly the right word but I realised long ago that life is a challenge. This is a challenge, 100 per cent. Problems are only there for us to find solutions," he said.
"The solutions, I am excited about them - that's true. I see the challenge in the situation and see there is an opportunity, that is all true.
"But still we play football games every three days, so this will stay a challenge. I am fine, we are fine, we deal with the situation and we will make the best of it. That is the plan."
Klopp also confirmed Jordan Henderson is available to face West Ham after being taken off at half-time against Midtjylland.
The Liverpool boss hinted his captain could be an option in the less than familiar position of centre back - as well as Gini Wijnaldum, James Milner or Andrew Robertson.
"There's other options too - Hendo (Henderson), Gini (Wijnaldum), James (Milner) or Robbo (Robertson) can play centre-half as well," Klopp said.
"None of them are smaller than (Javier) Mascherano as an example and he played really well in that position.
"So we still have one or two options and one of them we will choose - which one you'll have to wait and see."
Thiago Alcantara also faces a late fitness test as he continues his recovery from a knee injury sustained against Everton, while Naby Keita is also a doubt.
"You saw the incident, how it happened, with Thiago so that obviously needs now a little bit of time to settle," Klopp added.
"Nobody can say exactly how long because nothing is ruptured and nothing is broken or stuff like this. He's desperate to make the next steps.
"If he will be ready for tomorrow, we will see. Same with Naby, just a different kind of injury I would say."
Jamie Redknapp joins Peter Smith on this week's show to look ahead to Sunday's showdown between Man Utd and Arsenal and says there are more questions than answers at Old Trafford as Ole Gunnar Solskjaer prepares for his 100th game in charge.
Sky Sports News reporter Vinny O'Connor has the latest on Liverpool's injury problems and discusses the young players who could cover at centre-back.
And Sky Sports statistician Matt Cheetham picks out the numbers which explain why Everton's defeat at Southampton could just be a blip, and makes his bold Pitch for what will happen in the Premier League this weekend.
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