Liverpool dealt big injury blow as 'great' midfielder to miss West Ham and Crystal Palace fixtures

Liverpool are set to be without midfielder Harvey Elliot for more than a month after the 21-year-old picked up an injury during the international break, which could rule the player out of upcoming fixtures against West Ham and Crystal Palace.

The Reds have purred under new manager Arne Slot so far this season, winning all three of their opening fixtures without conceding a goal. Liverpool sit second in the Premier League, level on points with Manchester City.

However, Slot is soon to be handed a bigger test with fixtures coming thick and fast. After the international break, Liverpool will have midweek Champions League and Carabao Cup fixtures to contend with, as well as the usual league commitments.

That will mean the Reds’ boss will have to call upon his full squad and news of a serious injury to Elliot comes as a significant blow. The player has fractured his foot while training with the England under-21 side, failing to appear in either of the matches over the break. He is expected to be sidelined until late October, according to The Times reporter Paul Joyce.

Liverpool return to Premier League action against Nottingham Forest this weekend but face several of the teams in the capital before the end of October. West Ham visit Anfield in the Carabao Cup third round on September 25 with the Reds travelling down to Crystal Palace on October 5. There are then meetings with Chelsea and Arsenal on October 20 and 27, after the next international break, which are believed to have been earmarked as potential return fixtures for Elliot.

Elliot has appeared just once in the Premier League so far this season, a cameo against Brentford, but was praised by Slot for his influence in pre-season. The midfielder provided two assists in a 2-1 win over Arsenal in the United States during a pre-season friendly.

After that match, Slot said: "He [Elliott] had two great assists, but what I believe is that the team created these assists for him as well.

“Playing out from the back, getting him in the right positions – or another No.10. Then it is up to him to bring the most of these situations and he did that today with two assists.

“If I am a bit hard on him, I think there were two or three other situations where he could have done better. But that's what the team is doing for him; we make sure he and the other ones like Mo [Salah] and like Fabio [Carvalho] come in the right positions where they can show their quality. Harvey did that today with two good assists.”