Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has admitted he is unsure whether Joel Matip will feature against Everton in the 227th Merseyside derby.
Matip missed both the Reds’ win over Middlesbrough in midweek due to a persistent ankle problem which has plagued him for several weeks.
The defender, 25, was expected to make his return to action for the Goodison Park clash on Monday night after sitting out the 3-0 rout at the Riverside Stadium.
But Klopp has conceded that he has yet to decide on whether Matip will be able to play despite receiving a boost that the injury does not require surgery.
He said: “There will be no surgery, there is not even a risk of it. It is only about resting the injury or not.
“We haven’t made a final decision about how we handle it. He has had this problem for two or three weeks.
“It is his ankle. It’s not a real injury but it’s painful and we can’t push him through it.
“We will see if we try it again at Everton or give him another a few days and then try at Stoke or then wait and try against Manchester City.
“We are in really intense conversations about this and we’ve not decided yet.”