Jeremy Jacquet injury update as new Liverpool signing dealt huge setback

Liverpool agreed a transfer deal to sign Jeremy Jacquet from Rennes on deadline day, but in his first appearance after that was confirmed, he sustained a "serious" injury

Jeremy Jacquet may have suffered a nasty injury(Image: Neal Simpson/Sportsphoto/Allstar via Getty Images)

In his first appearance since his summer move to Liverpool was confirmed, Jeremy Jacquet sustained a "serious" injury, his manager, Habib Beye, confirmed on Friday.

Jacquet will not move to Anfield until July 1, despite an $83 million (£60 million) move having been agreed. Rennes was insistent that he must stay for the remainder of the campaign as it bids to secure a European place, but it remains to be seen how much he will be able to play following this setback.

According to the French outlet L'Equipe, Rennes is fearful that Jacquet might need surgery. It is said that he will miss "weeks" of action, at the very least.

"For Jeremy, it's his shoulder, and for Abdelhamid [Ait Boudlal, another Rennes player injured], it's muscular," Beye said. "We'll have time to see, but it's definitely quite serious for both of them."

Jacquet has been a key man for Rennes this season, even though he is only 20. While the French side remains sixth in Ligue 1, it has not won a game since January 3 and lost 3-1 to Lens on Friday, when the injuries occurred.

"I am honored to sign for Liverpool, one of the greatest football institutions in the world," Jacquet said in a statement when his transfer move was confirmed.

Jeremy Jacquet picked up an injury in Rennes' defeat to Lens

"It was also very important for me to finish my time in red and black on a high, at my boyhood club, the club of my heart. I'm approaching this second half of the season with the desire to experience some great moments with my teammates and the fans."

Liverpool is in a defensive crisis of its own at the moment. Dominik Szoboszlai's red card against Manchester City means he will be suspended for the visit to Sunderland on Wednesday.

Joe Gomez is not expected to be back in time to play at the Stadium of Light. Conor Bradley, Jeremie Frimpong and Giovanni Leoni are all sidelined through injury at the moment.

Despite that, Gary Neville remains confident that Liverpool will make the Champions League places.

"If they can put it in a box and not let it infect in here (points to his head), it is whether they are strong enough right now mentally to be able to cope with games every three days when challenging fixtures don't go their way," Neville said.

"They are five points behind the top four or five. It's not a big gap; there is a long way to go and they will have to play most of the teams above them, so they have loads of opportunities.

"But there is a question mark over Liverpool. There is a question mark over whether they will finish in the Champions League places, but I still think they will.

"What they have to do is box that up very quickly and chuck it in a corner and forget about it. Not good enough first half, but they kept a clean sheet. Second half, dominated and got the goal and should have seen it home."