Liverpool’s injury woes have continued after manager Brendan Rodgers confirmed Christian Benteke, Roberto Firmino and Dejan Lovren are set for spells on the sidelines.
Already without Jordan Henderson for up to eight weeks, Rodgers saw Kolo Toure pick up a leg injury to join fellow defender and long-term absentee Jon Flanagan on Liverpool's casualty list.
Benteke had to be substituted with a hamstring problem at half-time in Sunday's draw with Norwich, while Firmino and Lovren were both forced off after collecting knocks against Carlisle in midweek.
"All three will obviously not be available for the weekend," Rodgers explained at his pre-match press conference ahead of the visit of Aston Villa on Saturday.
"Christian will probably be out for a little bit of time.
"Young Firmino landed awkwardly in the game the other night and there is another scan on his back, but he may have cracked a bone in his back.
"We'll see how he'll be over the coming weeks, but certainly he'll be unavailable for tomorrow.
"And Dejan Lovren will be out for probably a few weeks with his ligament injury. So, unfortunately, those three are unavailable."
"You always want a fully-fit squad to pick from, but it's the nature of it," Rodgers added.
"We have Jordan Henderson out as well, so you've got some really important players that are unavailable for us. But we'll manage it.
"The players that are selectable really want to play and fight for the team.
"We'll await those guys coming back. There's no timeline on Christian and the others - we'll see how they go over the coming weeks."
There's no timeline on Christian [Benteke] and the others - we'll see how they go over the coming weeks.
On a more positive note for Liverpool fans, Rodgers confirmed Daniel Sturridge is in contention for a place in the side this weekend, following his return to action against Norwich last Sunday.
"We're nurturing him," said the manager. "He had a good hour or so during our last game in the league.
"We've just got to manage him back into the games. But it's great to see him on the training field and the pitch and obviously he'll be available for tomorrow."
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