Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk faces “more than a month” on the sidelines with a hamstring problem, manager Jurgen Klopp said on Friday.

The 19-time English champions are currently 16 points behind Premier League leaders Arsenal and seven points outside the top four.

The Dutch defender, 31, who suffered the injury in Monday’s 3-1 defeat to Brentford, will likely miss Premier League matches against Brighton, Chelsea and Wolves.

He faces a race to be fit for the Merseyside derby on February 13 and the Champions League last-16 first leg at home to Real Madrid the following week.

“It is a surprise for us and obviously a big blow,” Klopp said on the eve of his team’s FA Cup third-round tie against Wolves.

“The diagnosis was pretty harsh and we talk about weeks, more than a month, but I hope it goes quick. He never had an issue with muscles before and it just now happened. It was one sprint too much in that moment.”

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