Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson has been ruled out for the rest of the season with a knee injury, throwing his chances of playing for England at Euro 2016 into doubt.
Reds manager Jurgen Klopp revealed after last night's Europa League quarter-final first leg against Borussia Dortmund that Henderson's prognosis was "really bad news".
Henderson, who was appointed as Steven Gerrard's successor as captain before the start of the season, was replaced at half time by Joe Allen during Thursday evening's 1-1 draw in Germany.
Today, Liverpool confirmed the extent of the damage following a scan, which has revealed that Henderson has suffered "isolated damage" to his lateral collateral ligament.
This type of injury usually carries a three-month spell on the sidelines, but Liverpool are hopeful that the midfielder, who does not need surgery, could be fit in six to eight weeks' time.
England manager Roy Hodgson is due to name his 23-man squad for this summer's European Championships on May 12.
A statement from Liverpool read: "Under normal circumstances, an LCL injury can typically lead to anything up to a three-month layoff. However, Henderson's issue appears to be less serious and providing all goes well with the midfielder's recovery programme, the time out of action could be limited to between six and eight weeks."
Henderson started for the Three Lions in a recent friendly against Germany, but did not feature against the Netherlands at Wembley.
Danielle Joynson
