Liverpool rocked by injury to 'machine' ahead of huge Arsenal and Fulham fixtures

Liverpool will be without influential midfielder Dominic Szoboszlai for the upcoming FA Cup and Carabao Cup meetings with Arsenal and Fulham.

The 23-year-old, who arrived at Anfield for £60 million from RB Leipzig, has started 19 of the Reds' 20 Premier League matches this season and has grown to be a vital cog in Jurgen Klopp's machine. Szoboszlai limped off during Liverpool's dominant win over Newcastle United on New Year's Day.

Speaking to the media, Klopp has now confirmed that the midfielder will need to spend time in the treatment room. He will miss Sunday's FA Cup third-round clash with Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium and the first leg of the Carabao Cup tie with Fulham at Anfield on Wednesday.

Those matches are both key to Liverpool's season with the Merseyside club still in with the chance of completing their own treble this season. Klopp said: "I can confirm it's not a potential injury - it is an injury. Muscle, hamstring. But now we have to see. Dom is very positive, doesn't have a lot of pain, but we have to wait a little bit. So, no chance obviously for Sunday, not for Wednesday, and then we will see. After that, hopefully, he might be back but we don't know."

The Liverpool manager has made no secret of his admiration for Szoboszlai, who is a fierce presence in the Reds' midfield and one that Arsenal and Fulham will be glad not to face. Speaking earlier this season after a particularly dominant performance against Aston Villa, the German manager said: "He's a machine, eh? That is now four games, pretty impressive, absolutely impressive, tactically smart, absolutely ready for the dirty part of the game, really hard work, not the fancy stuff."

The two London clubs next up for Liverpool will also have their hopes of beating the in-form Premier League leaders boosted by the absence of Mohamed Salah and Wataru Endo, who are away on international duty at the Africa Cup of Nations and Asian Cup respectively.

Arsenal will also be impacted by the tournaments with Mohamed Elneny and Takehiro Tomiyasu absent while Fulham will miss Fode Ballo-Toure, Calvin Bassey and Alex Iwobi.