Fabinho blow creates chance for Keita
● Jurgen Klopp did not disguise his despair at losing Fabinho for the next two months as he called on his squad players to fill the considerable void left by the Brazilian.
The midfielder will miss the critical Christmas period and Club World Cup because of damaged ankle ligaments.
That will shift responsibility on Naby Keita to start living up to his reputation, while Adam Lallana and the fit-again Xherdan Shaqiri can also expect more game time.
Fabinho was already suspended for the visit of Brighton yesterday, but with more than 12 matches before the end of January, his influence will be missed.
“We have guys with a lack of minutes for different reasons like Shaq and Naby with injuries and illness,” said Klopp.
“These are normal things, but we don’t have the biggest squad in the world and now we have two defensive players in Joel [Matip] and Fabinho with long-term injuries.
“It’s not cool.”
Klopp’s worst fears were realised when a scan revealed the extent of the damage to Fabinho following the 1-1 draw with Napoli.
“Absolutely bad news. Nothing good to say about that,” said Klopp. “We have solutions for the position, we have to replace him, we can -replace him, we have played good without him. That’s all okay.
“We have to find solutions. It’s an opportunity for somebody else. We can change the system. We can do different things.
“Losing a player with the quality of Fabinho is big, massive, really bad. But we are not the only team in the Premier League with injuries.”
Centre-half Matip is undergoing another scan on a troublesome knee which has kept him out for the past month.
Meanwhile, Liverpool have unveiled £60m plans for a further expansion to Anfield to increase capacity to 61,000.
A draft proposal of a two-tiered design as visually striking as the enlarged main stand, which opened three years ago, has been revealed ahead of a consultation process with community leaders.
A formal planning application is intended by next year, the revamped structure potentially bringing 7,000 more fans into Anfield. Liverpool say the majority of those seats will be general admission rather than corporate.
It would make the Anfield Road end of the ground — traditionally a mix of home and visiting supporters — bigger than the Kop.
With 16,000 seats in total in the proposed new stand, Liverpool’s increased capacity would be the third biggest in the Premier League behind Manchester United’s Old Trafford and Tottenham’s new stadium in London.
“We have always been looking at a longterm development plan for Anfield and we have been looking specifically at Anfield Road as the next step,” said chief operating officer Andy Hughes. ©The Daily Telegraph, London