Jurgen Klopp has insisted that Liverpool still have the quality to get over the top-four line in the Premier League following the loss of key forward Sadio Mane.
The Senegal international's worst fears were confirmed on Friday afternoon as scans showed that he will not return to action before the end of the season.
Mane injured his knee during the Reds' 3-1 win over Everton last weekend in a challenge with Leighton Baines, with the damage severe enough to keep him out for the remaining five weeks.
Klopp is now focused on getting the best out of the players available to him, though he did joke that he would like to replace 13-goal attacker Mane with an exact replica up top.
"I would love to replace an injury player with the player of same quality - maybe his brother or twin," he told reporters. "Having too much quality is not always good. In this moment we can't change it. Why should I think about it?"
"It's not about thinking about the players you can't [select], it's about thinking of the players you can. Now we are just thinking about the lineup against Stoke, which is a real challenge. To be as strong as possible."
Mane, a £34m signing from Southampton last summer, has started all but five of Liverpool's league matches this season.
Daniel Lewis
