Calvin Ramsay is set to miss the rest of Liverpool’s season through injury.
Ramsay made just two appearances for Jurgen Klopp’s side in all competitions following his £4 million move from SPFL outfit Aberdeen during the summer.
The Scotland international underwent corrective surgery on a knee problem this week which has ruled him out of the remainder of the Reds’ campaign.
Klopp confirmed Ramsay’s lay-off on Friday while also revealing other issues which prevented the teenage left-back from playing a regular run of games.
He said: “Obviously missing the rest of the season is serious, but with Calvin it’s really special. Calvin arrived here and had a back problem I never heard [about] before.
“When you are in the growing process it can happen but he played all the games and didn’t really feel anything.
“Then he came here and we make a proper check and it’s like, ‘OK, needs something, we need to have a closer look.’
“He had no real pain or whatever but was not allowed to train for a long period because otherwise you can, for a young person who is still growing, you can create real problems in the long-term, so it was no chance.
“I asked him when we spoke – when it was clear he has now the new injury I had him in my office – ‘How often have you been your absolute best, yourself, pretty much?’ and he said, ‘Not often,’ and I say, ‘Never, not one day.’
“Now we have to use that because we couldn’t. If you want to adapt to a new thing and can’t train for four months, stuff like this, it’s really tricky.
“He was always this step behind, now he has that injury and this season is over.
“Even if you could come back a bit earlier, that makes no sense because now it is really to build the boy up physically and then to have a new start and we go again.
“We cannot play catch-up all the time with him because he is a great talent, a real talent, who had the most unlucky start possible. “