Mario Balotelli will not feature against Bournemouth in Liverpool’s Capital One Cup quarter-final as he has not travelled with the squad.
The Italy striker was a second-half substitute in Sunday’s defeat at Manchester United, where he made his comeback after more than a month on the sidelines with a groin problem.
Balotelli has stayed behind to receive further treatment on the injury at the club’s Melwood training ground with a view to him being fit for Sunday’s visit of Arsenal.
Glen Johnson, who came off with a groin injury at Old Trafford, is likely to be out for about a month, meaning the on-loan Javier Manquillo could be set for an extended run if Brendan Rodgers reverts to a flat back four, having experimented with three centre-backs against United.
Rodgers is expected to name a strong side against the Championship leaders as he looks for a much-needed confidence boost after going out of the Champions League to Basel and losing against their arch-rivals in the same week.
That could mean Raheem Sterling, in the absence of Balotelli, is again asked to perform in the central striking role as he did against United.
The 20-year-old has reportedly been attracting the interest of Bayern Munich and, although Liverpool have yet to tie him down to a new contract, Rodgers is relaxed about the player’s future and does not think they will lose the youngster as they did Luis Suárez to Barcelona in the summer.
“Hopefully it is not going to be the case. We are trying to build something here,” said Rodgers. “We were on a path for a couple of years and we have had to come off that path since the summer having lost some players and have had to regroup. He is a real talisman for this team.”
Looking forward to the tie at the Goldsands Stadium, Rodgers added: “We’re in competitions to win trophies, so if we can get the victory against Bournemouth and get through, the aim for us would be to hopefully go on and win the competition. This is the first cup competition that you can win, so it was always a priority for me.”