FA Cup: Jurgen Klopp says Liverpool 'need miracles' for tie against ...

Jurgen Klopp admits Liverpool "need miracles" to ease their injury load as they prepare to face Southampton in an FA Cup fifth round clash on Wednesday.

The Reds are missing a number of first team regulars at the moment, with Diogo Jota, Darwin Nunez and Trent Alexander-Arnold sidelined through injury.

The Dutch international will miss the game at Anfield, although Klopp has confirmed the injury is not as bad as first feared.

"Ryan is not available," said the Reds boss. "It could have been worse, but it is bad enough to rule him out of this game and the next game. We shall see.

"We need miracles for a few players, so I don't want to rule them out for too long. But it is touch and go with a lot of the boys who were not available for the final."

The injury crisis comes at a bad time for Liverpool, who are top of the Premier League, but have Manchester City breathing down their necks.

They are also about to re-start their quest for UEFA Europa League glory, with a two-legged clash against Sparta Prague starting next week.

One man who they would have hoped would return to aide the push for glory is Thiago Alcantara.

The midfielder has only made one appearance for the club this season, but his return from hip surgery did not go well as he limped out of the 3-1 defeat to Arsenal.

And with the 32-year-old out of contract in the summer, Klopp admits he "doesn't know" if the Spaniard will play for Liverpool again this season.

"It’s not a short-term thing, that’s why I’m not really in the subject," he added.

"It’s not that he might be in training in two weeks or something like this. Cannot say more about it, to be honest. The region is the same.”

The news is better for youngster Stefan Bajcetic though.

The Spaniard made the most recent of his two appearances this season back in September, before being ruled out of action for six months.

However, the 19-year-old could return sooner, rather than later, according to his manager.

"I had lunch here and saw him training," Klopp added. "I sat there and thought 'why is he not playing?'

"He's obviously gaining fitness now. he's running around like 'wow!' He's doing everything but he didn't get the green light yet for us for the team training. And there's nobody in this building who wants to hold him back, so there might be some reasons.

"He's pain-free, completely pain-free, which is the most important thing. All checks we made, scans again, bone looks good, all fine. Now we just need to make sure of the moment we use him again in normal training because the difficulty of football is such a complex sport for the body.

"For me he looks good, but how good, I get told. I cannot decide. Nobody told me he will be back soon."

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