Liverpool are reportedly set to be without Adam Lallana for their clash with Southampton on Saturday after he failed to travel with his teammates on Friday.
The 28-year-old has been a pivotal part of Liverpool’s impressive start to the campaign, bagging three goals and providing five assists in 11 Premier League outings.
In turn, with The Liverpool Echo reporting that he wasn’t on the flight south with his teammates on Friday, his absence will undoubtedly be a disappointing setback for Jurgen Klopp.
As noted in the report, Philippe Coutinho has travelled with the Reds despite his commitments over the international break and the amount of travel involved, while he also returned with a complaint over a tight hamstring.
It remains to be seen whether or not he gets the nod from Klopp to start for Liverpool at St. Mary’s, but it doesn’t look as though Lallana will be lining up against his former club this time round.
The England international lasted just 20 minutes of England’s friendly against Spain at Wembley on Tuesday night due to a groin problem, and so it was always unlikely that he would recover in time.
As a result, it looks as though the visitors will have to make some changes to their line up, and that will certainly be a test of their title credentials to prove that they have the quality and depth to cope without key players and continue to pick up big results.
Liverpool begin the weekend top of the Premier League table, but they will know that they have a tough match ahead of them and will have to prove that they can deal with key absences.