Jurgen Klopp has confirmed that Sadio Mane’s Liverpool season is over.
Mane faces the remaining month-and-a-half of the campaign on the sidelines with a knee injury sustained during last weekend’s Merseyside derby win.
Scans revealed that the Reds’ top scorer suffered meniscus damage from landing awkwardly following a challenge with Everton defender Leighton Baines.
Liverpool had hoped the extent of the injury would allow the Senegal international to play some part in their final seven Premier League games.
But Klopp admits that Mane’s return to competitive action has been curtailed until the 2017/18 season as the influential attacker prepares to undergo surgery.
He said: “Sadio, we are pretty sure, will need surgery.
“Not 100 per cent sure when it will happen but it’s clear his season is over.
“That’s what I expected when I saw it after the [Everton] game. I thought he was lucky not more [damage] happened.
“He will be ready for the next season. That’s the only good news.”