Liverpool manager Arne Slot has admitted that Diogo Jota might not return from his abdominal injury until a couple of weeks after the international break.
The Portugal international hurt his side in the 2-1 Premier League home win over Chelsea on October 20 and has missed the Reds' last five matches across all competitions.
Slot had already confirmed that the former Wolverhampton Wanderers man would not be back in action before the international break, so he was never expected to be part of the squad against Aston Villa this weekend.
However, there was initially hope that Jota would be fit for Liverpool's first match back after the November international hiatus, but speaking ahead of the Villa clash, the Dutchman admitted that may not be the case.
"We expect him back after the international break... the first weeks after the international break we expect him back," Slot told the press. "I always say in Holland there is privacy about this and I don't know how it is over here. Like I just said, he will be back one or two weeks after the international break."
What other Liverpool games could Jota miss?
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Should Jota not be back to full fitness until two weeks after the international window - as Slot suggested might be the case - the Portugal international could miss two huge matches between now and Christmas.
Liverpool would be expected to defeat Southampton on November 24 regardless of Jota's availability, but they may also have to cope without the forward against Real Madrid in the Champions League three days later.
The run-in does not get any easier for Liverpool when advent season begins, as Manchester City lie in wait for a Premier League blockbuster on December 1, before Slot's men head to Newcastle United three days later.
However, a return can be provisionally pencilled in for the Merseyside derby with Everton at Goodison Park on December 7, but Darwin Nunez, Luis Diaz and Cody Gakpo can hold the fort up front for the time being.
Jota is one of four Liverpool's absentees for the visit of Villa, as Federico Chiesa (fitness), Alisson Becker (hamstring) and Harvey Elliott (foot) are also missing, and Slot has suggested that he would have no qualms about starting Diaz through the middle again after his hat-trick against Bayer Leverkusen.
Could Diaz be Liverpool's number nine against Villa?
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"It depends on the availability of the players," Slot said when asked who could start up top. "So, when we had Darwin [Nunez] and Diogo [Jota] available, we always played one of those two. The moment Diogo was no longer available – and, in my opinion, because we play so many games and Darwin didn't play in the first games, it was too much for him, so that's why we started to come up with other ideas.
"To be honest, I especially liked the last idea! I think every Liverpool supporter did with Lucho [Luis Diaz] scoring three goals; two as a No.9, one as a winger. That's always interesting to see.
"Lucho is also a very good left-winger and, at this moment, we have four attackers available for three positions, so we could come up with another idea again – but if Diogo comes back, Darwin is back, then we've got two No.9s available again.
"In the beginning of the season, I always chose one of these two but, like I said, Lucho did really well and it was even for me maybe a bit of surprise to see how well he did. Of course, I played him there for a reason, I expected him to do good, but that he did so well that was even a surprise for me."
Liverpool hold a two-point lead atop the Premier League table over Manchester City, who could leapfrog the Reds for a couple of hours with victory over Brighton & Hove Albion in Saturday's 5.30pm kickoff.
Ben Knapton
