Liverpool blow with Lallana out until at least October
LIVERPOOL have suffered a significant setback with Adam Lallana out for ‘a couple of months’ with a thigh injury. The England midfielder sustained the knock during the first half against Atletico Madrid in the Audi Cup final defeat on Wednesday. The full extent was only diagnosed upon Liverpool’s return on Thursday. ‘This is certainly not news we would have wanted,’ said manager Jurgen Klopp. ‘Unfortunately, the damage is such that it will likely mean Adam is out for a couple of months not weeks, so I think we can pretty much rule him out of August and September.’ Lallana, 29, is a key figure of Jurgen Klopp’s squad and will also miss England’s World Cup qualifiers against Malta and Slovakia next month. Lallana will be heartbroken by this setback. He missed a significant chunk of the run-in last season after being injured playing for England against Lithuania in March but returned in time to score in the final day victory against Middlesbrough to secure fourth place. Liverpool face Athletic Bilbao in Dublin today and their squad will not include Daniel Sturridge, who injured his thigh against Bayern Munich. Meanwhile, Hoffenheim stand in the way of Liverpool’s return to the Champions League proper for the first time since 2014. Klopp, who predicted he would be paired with the German side, knows Liverpool will be severely tested with the first leg away on August 15 and the return on August 23. Hoffenheim are managed by 30-year-
old Julian Nagelsmann and Klopp is mindful of the threat they pose. ‘Actually, it was exactly what I expected when I had a look — if there’s a choice we always seem to take the German team! Sorry! ‘It was clear from the first moment when we knew who we could face that there would be no easy game. It’s Hoffenheim and that’s for sure not an easy game. But we should not forget what they thought in the moment they saw the draw — it’s not the best thing they could get.’ Celtic meet Kazakh side Astana in their play-off tie, with the home leg on August 16 and the return on August 22. Across Stanley Park, Everton need to get beyond Hadjuk Split if they are to reach the Europa League group stages and manager Ronald Koeman said: ‘It will be a real challenge with their strong support and a stadium that is good to play football in.’ The first leg is at Goodison on August 17 with the return a week later.