Klopp confirms reinvigorated Liverpool star will miss Merseyside derby

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  • Liverpool to be without Alberto Moreno for Sunday’s Merseyside derby
  • Spaniard substituted during midweek Champions League game with ankle injury
  • Andrew Robertson and James Milner battling for starting spot against Everton
  • SEE MORE: Liverpool teenager seals new long-term deal at Anfield

Alberto Moreno’s injury setback will force Jurgen Klopp to rotate his team yet again when Liverpool face Everton at Anfield this weekend.

The Spaniard was forced to come off in Wednesday’s 7-0 Champions League win over Spartak Moscow after suffering an ankle injury whilst awkwardly blocking a shot.

Moreno’s tears as he left the field served as a sorry sight, with his layoff coming as a crushing blow to his revived Liverpool career.

Klopp has confirmed that the left-back will miss Sunday’s Merseyside derby, admitting that the club’s fitness staff are still trying to get to the bottom of the issue.

“We need to have further assessment. I cannot say much about it. It’s a very rare thing. So far the specialists aren’t sure [how long he’ll be out for],” Klopp said on Friday,” the Reds’ boss told Liverpoolfc.com.

“Not Everton, but if it’s in a week or so or a little bit longer we have to wait for that. There’s a little damage around the tendons.”

Having lost his starting spot to make-shift left-back James Milner last season, Moreno was dubbed a certainty to depart during the summer.

A superb pre-season later, however, and the 25-year-old had reestablished himself as part of Klopp’s plans on Merseyside.

He has since been one of the club’s standout performers, impressing with a greater focus on his defensive responsibilities and managing to keep summer-signing Andrew Robertson frustrated on the sidelines.

Moreno’s absence has left Milner and Robertson to fight it out for a part in one of Liverpool’s biggest games of the season.

Milner’s experience and positive impact as Moreno’s replacement against Spartak is likely to give him the edge over his teammate, who was handed a rare start in last week’s win over Brighton.

Klopp’s decision promises to be telling in terms of his assessment of where Robertson is at in his development.

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