Liverpool have revealed that new signing Adam Lallana is expected to miss the start of the season after suffering a knee injury during a pre-season training session.
The England international, who cost the Reds £23.6m from Southampton, is likely to be unavailable for the visit of his former club on the opening weekend of the Premier League campaign on August 17.
Medical staff from the Anfield club have admitted that a definite timescale cannot be put on Lallana's layoff until he has been further assessed, but the lateral collateral ligament damage suffered by the 25-year-old often leads to a spell of six weeks on the sidelines.
The attacking midfielder was poised to make his Liverpool debut in their friendly against Olympiacos in Chicago this weekend, but sustained a knock while practising at their Boston training base.
Lallana is one of four acquisitions made by Reds manager Brendan Rodgers so far during this transfer window, with Rickie Lambert, Lazar Markovic and Emre Can also making the move to Merseyside.
Joe Fish
