The news nobody wanted to hear, Klopp confirms the worst before the game against Toulouse

Liverpool manager Jürgen Klopp confirmed on Wednesday that one of his key players has had to undergo surgery. The Reds take on Toulouse in the Europa League group stage on Thursday. He is left-back Andy Robertson, who has undergone shoulder surgery after picking up a shoulder injury while playing for Scotland, for whom he is captain, against Spain, in a dive with La Roja goalkeeper Unai Simon (who won 2-0, with both teams ultimately qualifying for Euro 2024 after Spain's 1-0 win over Norway).

Although Liverpool have not specified the length of time he will be out, Robertson could be out for between 10 and 12 weeks. "(Andy Robertson) has had surgery and everything went well, as well as it could go," Klopp told a news conference. "We don't know how long it will take for him to come back into the team, but the first step has been taken."

Robertson, who played eight Premiership games and scored one goal for Liverpool this season, was replaced by Greek left-back Kostas Tsimikas in last Saturday's 2-0 derby win over Everton at Anfield. Tsimikas also started the Europa League wins over LASK Linz (1-3) and Union Saint-Gilloise (2-0), as well as the Carabao Cup 3rd round win over Leicester (3-1) this season and came on in the 86th minute against Bournemouth (3-1 for the Reds).

<strong>Who will replace Robertson?</strong>

Klopp has previously stated that Joe Gomez, usually a centre-back or right-back, can also play at left-back, as can 19-year-old Luke Chambers. Meanwhile, Klopp said Cody Gakpo has recovered from injury (sustained in the 2-1 defeat to Tottenham, Liverpool's only loss of the season) and will be fit to play against Toulouse at Anfield on Thursday.