Loris Karius to miss start of the Liverpool FC season due to injury20:00, 29 JUL 2016 UPDATED 20:42, 29 JUL 2016
BY JAMES PEARCE
Goalkeeper was hurt in Wednesday's night defeat to Chelsea
Liverpool have been rocked by the news that goalkeeper Loris Karius will miss the start of the season after breaking a bone in his hand. The German shot-stopper, who was hurt in Wednesday night's defeat to Chelsea in Pasadena, is expected to be sidelined for eight to 10 weeks. That means it could be October before Karius is ready to make his Premier League debut. It's a devastating blow for manager Jurgen Klopp, who was expected to pick Karius ahead of Simon Mignolet for the opening clash against Arsenal on August 14.
The £4.7million summer signing from Mainz will leave Liverpool's California training base on Friday to fly home to the UK.
He's likely to need an operation to correct the damage which was caused in a collision with team-mate Dejan Lovren at the Rose Bowl.
Just before the hour-mark Karius came for a cross and inadvertently punched the Reds centre-back.
The keeper played on but after complaining of discomfort on Thursday he was sent for a scan which confirmed the fracture.
Karius recently revealed that he had given up on his Olympic dream in order to establish himself as Liverpool's No 1. He turned down the chance to represent Germany in Brazil following talks with Klopp.
However, this setback for the new signing means that Mignolet will now continue as the club's first-choice keeper in the early months of the 2016/17 campaign.
Liverpool also have further cover in the form of veteran Alex Manninger, who joined on a free transfer from Augsburg this summer.
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