Loris Karius faces up to 10 weeks out for Liverpool after breaking a bone in his hand.
The goalkeeper’s start to his Anfield career has been disrupted by the setback suffered during training on the club’s pre-season tour of the United States.
Karius collided with team mate Dejan Lovren during the Reds’ International Champions Cup game with Chelsea on Wednesday.
The German, 23, is set to fly back to Merseyside to undergo surgery on the problem, which has put paid to his plans to challenge Simon Mignolet.
His £4.7 million arrival from Mainz had threatened to place pressure on Mignolet as Liverpool’s first-choice stopper in the new season.
But with a prospective two-month lay-off, the Belgium international will continue to assume the role for the opening Premier League trip to Arsenal.
Earlier this summer Karius revealed that he turned down the chance to represent his country at the Olympics in plans for a flying start with Jurgen Klopp’s side.