Jurgen Klopp expects Liverpool to be without Joe Gomez for up to four weeks.
Gomez suffered an ankle injury during England’s friendly win over Holland last Friday and returned to Merseyside to have the problem assessed.
The defender will miss Saturday’s trip to Crystal Palace, as the Reds consider offering a returning Nathaniel Clyne the chance to fill the right-back void.
But Klopp admits Gomez is also in line to miss next weekend’s Merseyside derby clash with Everton and the Champions League double header with Manchester City.
He said: “The good news about Joe Gomez is it that it could have been everything.
“But from the bad news we could have got, the best is that it is serious enough to leave him out for a few games but not for the rest of the season.
“So it’s difficult to give a time schedule for that but we hope he is back in training in three or four weeks. That will give us the option to use him and play.
“At the moment, it’s serious and serious enough to rule him out for the next few games.
“But I think we will see Joe back on the pitch this season, it’s pretty sure, how it looks at the moment.
“He feels much better already but of course we need to be careful. I don’t know exactly how long but we hopefully have a lot of games to come and he will be part of a few.”