Liverpool head coach Jurgen Klopp on Friday said that forward Sadio Mane will miss the rest of the English football season as the Senegal star will undergo surgery on his injured left knee.
The 24-year-old, who has scored 13 goals in 29 appearances this term, sustained the injury during the second half of Saturday's Merseyside derby victory over Everton.
"Sadio will, we're pretty sure, need surgery. We're not 100 per cent sure when it will happen, but then it is clear his season is over," Klopp said, according to Liverpool FC's website.
"That's what I expected, actually, when I saw the video after the game. I thought he was lucky in this situation that not more happened, but now we are close to the end of the season and that means it will be pretty much impossible that he will play again this season," he added.
"But then he'll have a long break and be ready for next season, so that's the only good news."
This is a big blow for Liverpool, who are pushing for a top-four finish in the English Premier League (EPL). They are currently third in the standings.
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Liverpool have already amassed the same number of points this season as they did throughout the whole of 2015-16 (60), with seven matches still to play.
Klopp also insisted that he is not currently bothered about whether qualifying for the Champions League would be a failure.
"We will see what happens. Our opponents are really strong (and) two of the six involved at the moment will not be in the Champions League next year," he said.
"We want to qualify for the Champions League and if you don't then you can think about the reasons for that, but at the moment we don't think about that or why we only have 60 points or why we have already 60 points," the German tactician added.
"The only thing we think is about building a line-up for Stoke City (on Saturday) -- and that's a real challenge today, actually -- and how we can be as strong as possible there and win the game."
--IANS
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