Liverpool are facing an anxious wait over the fitness of young striker Paul Glatzel.
The 18-year-old suffered a knee injury in Thursday’s pre-season friendly win over Tranmere, and underwent a scan on Friday to assess the extent of the damage.
Glatzel was visibly distressed as he left the field, and Jurgen Klopp suggested after the game that it could be a serious issue for the forward.
"Paul Glatzel, unfortunately we had to take him off and we’re not sure about that," Klopp said. "It doesn’t look too good but we have to wait. He’s a wonderful kid as well."
Glatzel enjoyed a breakthrough year with Liverpool’s under-18 team last season, scoring 28 goals for Barry Lewtas’s side and netting the winning penalty as the Reds lifted the FA Youth Cup for the first time in 12 years back in April.
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Sources have told Goal that the teenager, who has represented both England and Germany at youth level, had returned to training in excellent shape after the summer break, topping the fitness charts at Liverpool’s Kirkby Academy.
Glatzel, along with the likes of Bobby Duncan, Yasser Larouci and Viteszlav Jaros, trained at Melwood with the senior squad last week and was given the chance to shine at Prenton Park as the Reds got their pre-season friendly campaign underway.
Now, though, he is facing an extended spell on the sidelines, robbing him of the chance to build on last season’s success.
It is more bad luck for the Parbold-based youngster, who saw his progress disrupted by a broken leg sustained as a first-year scholar.
"It was tough," Glatzel told reporters back in April. "But mentally it has helped a lot to know you can overcome those things.
"I seem to have come through it quite well, and I think it has shaped me into the player I am."
His recovery from that setback was impressive – he captained the under-18s last season and has already made the step up to under-23 level, scoring two goals for Neil Critchley’s team – and he must dig deep once again as Liverpool await the results of his latest setback.
The Reds confirmed on Saturday that Andy Robertson had undergone a "minor procedure" after suffering an infection in his hand, but said that the Scot will travel with them for their three-game tour of the United States next week.
Robertson was among five senior players to return to Melwood this weekend, along with Virgil van Dijk, Gini Wijnaldum, Trent Alexander-Arnold and club captain Jordan Henderson.