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Liverpool's young talent, Kaide Gordon, is set for a stint on the sidelines.
The 21-year-old has taken to social media to reveal that he has torn his meniscus and will be out of action "for some time." It's a bitter blow for the youngster, who sat out the entire 2022-23 season due to a long-term injury.
Gordon made history as Liverpool's youngest goalscorer in the FA Cup when he scored on his Anfield debut during the third-round victory over Shrewsbury in January 2022. The England youth international regained his fitness in the early stages of the 2023-24 season and made three additional first-team appearances for the Reds before spending the last season on loan in the Championship with Norwich and then Portsmouth.
He has stayed with Liverpool for the current campaign and was a substitute in the 3-0 Carabao Cup home defeat to Crystal Palace in October.
Given the absences of Mohamed Salah, Cody Gakpo, and Federico Chiesa, Gordon might have anticipated being part of Arne Slot's first-team squad for the Champions League match against Inter at the San Siro on Tuesday.
He participated in training ahead of the Reds' previous Champions League match, at home against PSV Eindhoven.
However, the forward, who has been performing impressively for the U21s this season, has now confirmed why that won't be happening.
He said: "So disappointed to say I have torn my meniscus and will be out for some time, worst news I could have got, and this one will hurt for a while, but I will be back."
Jurgen Klopp on Kaide Gordon
After his goal against Shrewsbury nearly four years ago, Jurgen Klopp was keen to praise Gordon.
"He is a special kid, everyone knows that," the then Liverpool boss told reporters at the time. "He is really calm, great finisher. But he can improve; he needs to get more involved in the game."
Gordon started his career at Derby before joining Liverpool in 2021.
He was just 16 years old when he made his debut for Derby under Wayne Rooney. "I brought Kaide up with the first team initially to train with us for a week to see how he reacted to it, and he was one of the best trainers," said Rooney at the time.
"I kept him with us for a couple of weeks, and he’s been training at the same level, if not to a better level to a lot of the other first-team players.
"As I said to the players: if you train hard and train well, I will give you your chance. Kaide is a fantastic player, and he has got a lot of potential."
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