Luis Diaz has suffered a setback in his recovery from a knee injury.
Diaz first sustained the problem during Liverpool’s 3-2 defeat at Arsenal in early October and was forecast to be sidelined until after the World Cup.
An initial scan confirmed that he would not require corrective surgery amid hopes that the winger would be available ahead of the Christmas schedule.
The Colombia international had previously set his sights on returning in time for the Carabao Cup last-16 tie against Manchester City on December 22.
He stepped up efforts in his planned comeback route by linking up with Jurgen Klopp’s side for their winter break training camp in Dubai this week.
Diaz was initially hoped to have played some involvement in either of the Reds’ friendlies in the United Arab Emirates against Lyon and AC Milan.
But the 25-year-old is now set to make an early return to Merseyside after he was understood to have complained of discomfort issues in his knee.
Liverpool are also expected to be without Diogo Jota over the festive period as he continues to recover from the thigh injury which ruled him out of Portugal’s World Cup campaign.
“It’s all good [fitness-wise] with the boys who are here,” said Klopp.
“What’s not good is we have to see with Lucho.
“He felt something and we need to have further assessment there.”
“But apart from that they all look really, really good.”
Since making a £33 million move from Porto in January, Diaz has emerged as a key threat for Liverpool with 10 goals and six assists in his first 38 outings.