LONDON • Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has said that captain Jordan Henderson's return from a foot injury has been put back for the foreseeable future and he would adopt a cautious approach with the midfielder to avoid aggravating the problem.
Henderson, who had been expected to return to training this week, has not featured for Liverpool since early February.
But the club have coped well in his absence as they are unbeaten in their last three games, rising to fourth in the Premier League.
"Jordan suffered a little setback and he is not in team training until now," Klopp said yesterday. "When we were here last time I said I hoped he could be in training this week. But we have to wait for this.
"It's only a question of time, unfortunately. There's nothing we can do. But we have to be careful and not take a risk."
Striker Daniel Sturridge will also miss today's league clash against Everton with a hip injury, while midfielder Philippe Coutinho and striker Roberto Firmino have returned from international duty with Brazil unscathed.
Klopp expressed his frustration after Adam Lallana suffered a thigh injury while playing for England last month, but refused to fault manager Gareth Southgate for selecting the midfielder.
"Obviously I was not happy. But it is not about blaming Southgate. Sometimes things like this happen," the German said.
Klopp also admitted he has been impressed with seventh-placed Everton in recent weeks but was confident his side will put up a fight against their bitter rivals.
"They are close to where they want to be. We cannot ignore this. It is important - and not only because it's a derby. They look really confident. But I cannot imagine one reason why we shouldn't be confident too," he said.
"(We will) be aggressive, but not too aggressive and fight for everything to try to make our supporters happy."
Everton were hammered 4-0 at Anfield last season and lost the Goodison derby 0-1 in December to an injury-time Sadio Mane goal.
Yet, manager Ronald Koeman is confident his team will do well today.
Said Koeman: "I heard in the last two seasons they (Everton) were too afraid to play against Liverpool. Why you need to be afraid, I don't understand that."
However, with the broken leg suffered by Seamus Coleman and a knee injury for fellow defender Ramiro Funes Mori, Koeman says it was one of his "worst international breaks" for Everton.
"In one week we lost three players but still I think we have a strong team for tomorrow," Koeman said.
Midfielder Morgan Schneiderlin will not face Liverpool today or Manchester United on Tuesday because of a calf problem.
REUTERS
