Things look to be going from bad to worse for Liverpool and Brendan Rodgers with the news that striker and chief summer signing Christian Benteke may be set for an injury lay-off.
The forward was recruited from Aston Villa for a hefty £32.5 million during the summer [BBC Sport] and has made a good start to life at Anfield.
In his six Premier League matches with the Reds to date, Benteke has scored two goals, and has averaged an impressive 8.5 aerial battles won per match so far.
He scored the only goal of the game in his second match for Rodgers’s side—a 1-0 victory at home against Bournemouth—and followed that up with an effort in the 3-1 loss to Manchester United.
However, Liverpool now face the prospect of missing several weeks of action after suffering a hamstring injury in the weekend draw with Norwich City.
According to the Telegraph, the forward will undergo a scan, and looks unlikely to be fit for the weekend match against his former club Aston Villa.
First team coach Gary McAllister has admitted that the club are anxious about Benteke’s situation: “Christian is going to have an MRI scan today. He has a problem with his hamstring,” the ex-midfielder began, as per the Telegraph.
“He’s not going to be ready for tomorrow. Danny Ings came on and it was really refreshing to see his performance,” he continued.
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“He has been working his socks off on the training ground and it is not by a fluke that he scored. It is because of his hard work. The fans need something. Players need to get the fans going by playing attractive football and scoring goals,” the Scot continued.
“There were loads of good things at the weekend. We created chances and passed it better. It’s about building on top of that.”
In Benteke’s absence, Rodgers will have to use the full depth of his squad.
The coach can call upon Roberto Firmino—who is yet to find the net this season—while Danny Ings is another option. Divock Origi is yet to truly find his feet in English football, having managed only 16 minutes in the league so far.
Danny Sturridge may also come into the reckoning, having made his comeback—featuring for an hour—against Norwich.