Fabinho gives injury recovery update as Liverpool wait on stars to return

Fabinho admits he is “unsure” how long an untimely injury at Liverpool will keep him stuck on the sidelines.

The versatile Brazilian has been filling in at centre-half for the Reds this season, with Jurgen Klopp seeing his squad decimated by fitness problems.

Tactical tinkering has been forced upon the reigning Premier League champions, with Virgil van Dijk, Joe Gomez and Joel Matip ruled out long-term.

Fabinho has joined them in the treatment room, with the 27-year-old sitting out Liverpool’s last three games.

He was laid low in the wake of an FA Cup fourth-round defeat to Manchester United and concedes no timescale is being put on his recovery.

Fabinho, who is nursing a muscle complaint, told Liverpool’s official matchday programme: “I had a slight discomfort in training so we decided that I shouldn't play against Tottenham or West Ham.

“I started undergoing my recovery straightaway and I'm feeling a lot better than I was at the start of last week and hopefully I'll have the opportunity to come back for these games we have coming up.

“We're not exactly sure how long I will be out but I'm working hard to be back playing as soon as possible.”

Liverpool appeared to have countered Fabinho’s absence and rediscovered their spark when seeing off Tottenham and West Ham in back-to-back outings in London. Klopp’s side wobbled again, though, in a 1-0 home defeat to Brighton, leaving them seven points adrift of table-topping Manchester City.

A meeting with the Citizens is next up for the Reds, with Fabinho confident they can play their way into form and contention for more major honours.

He added: “We know the quality of this team. Of course, we have had a few players out this season with injuries and coronavirus, but we know that we have the quality to be in a better position in the league table.

“The confidence will come back for sure and we just have to keep working hard because the quality is there. Sometimes you have difficult times in football and you just have to be together, work hard and do everything you can to win because you know the results can turn around just as quickly.”