Liverpool confirmed Thiago Alcantara’s injury blow earlier on in the week but manager Jurgen Klopp has now provided a possible timeframe on the midfielder’s return.

The 30-year-old central midfielder is set to be sidelined for the next three games and he is expected to return to action after the international break.

Klopp said to the club’s official website: “It’s not 100 per cent clear when Thiago will be back. It’s a muscle in the calf issue, so after the international break probably – I don’t think there’s anything earlier possible. We will have to see.”

Jürgen Klopp expects @Thiago6 to return to action after the forthcoming international break.

— Liverpool FC (@LFC) September 24, 2021

Thiago will miss games Premier League games against Brentford and Manchester City. He will also miss the Champions League clash away to Porto.

The Reds are already without the services of Harvey Elliot and Naby Keita due to injuries. Thiago’s absence for the next three matches will come as a major blow for the Reds.

Elliott picked up an ankle injury against Leeds United and he is expected to return towards the end of this season. Meanwhile, Keita hurt his foot during the game against Crystal Palace and he is expected to miss a couple of matches.

Klopp on Keita: "Nothing serious but it keeps him out of Brentford, for sure. A little longer maybe, we will see. Painful and we have to see how he deals with it. Not cool. A good pre-season and played a lot of games but it happens."

— Paul Gorst (@ptgorst) September 24, 2021

Klopp is now left with Jordan Henderson, James Milner, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Fabinho and Curtis Jones as his midfield options. Despite having the numbers, Liverpool will miss the creativity and control at the middle of the park because of Keita and Thiago’s absence.

Away games against Brentford and Porto could prove to be tricky encounters and Klopp could have surely used Thiago’s calmness and composure against Manchester City on the 3rd of October.

The Liverpool midfielder has been unlucky since his arrival in the Premier League and he sustained a nasty injury against Everton last season which kept him out for the majority of the campaign.

Thiago arrived with a lot of expectations from Bayern Munich but the Spaniard has not been able to showcase his peak form for the Reds yet.

The 30-year-old is a world-class player on his day and the Liverpool fans will be hoping that he can recover quickly and make a significant impact this season.