Liverpool Injury News: Key Man Ruled Out + Positive Lallana Update

Liverpool skipper Jordan Henderson is facing an extended spell on the sidelines after being forced to see a specialist in America to cure his troublesome heel injury but Adam Lallana is set to make his return this weekend, according to the Guardian.

Henderson has missed Liverpool’s last three Premier League matches after limping out of the Merseysider’s 1-0 victory over Bournemouth at Anfield last month.

Brendan Rodgers had initially hoped the midfielder would be fit to return to full training after the recent international break but the injury is proving to be more difficult to shift than first thought.

It appears the club have now decided to take further action as the Guardian claim that Henderson travelled to the United States on Monday where he’ll see orthopedic specialist Dr James Cozzarelli in New York this week.

The newspaper says that the 25-year-old will receive treatment for the injury and he’s now facing an extended spell on the sidelines, but crucially surgery is not believed to be on the cards for the England international.

No specific time-frame has been put on Henderson’s return but Liverpool will no doubt be hoping that his trip to America will speed up his recovery significantly.

However, the news that Henderson has been ruled out for a prolonged period will come as a major blow to Rodgers as the midfielder has become a hugely influential figure for them over the past 18 months.

The Reds have struggled without their skipper over the past month having only picked up one point – a 0-0 draw at Arsenal – with defeats against West Ham and Manchester United coming in the other two matches he’s missed.

Rodgers has gone with a midfield three of Emre Can, Lucas Leiva and James Milner in recent matches but they’ve looked unbalanced and lacking in creativity, so we’ll have to see whether the Northern Irishman decides to change things up over the coming weeks.

There was some better news for Liverpool as the Guardian claim that Adam Lallana returned to training over the weekend and is now closing in on making his comeback.

Lallana has missed the last three matches with a thigh injury and although Thursday’s Europa League clash at Bordeaux is likely to come too soon, the attacker should be back in contention for Sunday’s clash with Norwich City.