Divock Origi has been tipped to fill the void if Roberto Firmino misses Liverpool's trip to Barcelona on Wednesday.
The Brazil international missed Friday night's 5-0 hammering of an already-relegated Huddersfield Town side after suffering what manager Jurgen Klopp described as a "small muscle tear".
The Reds boss remains hopeful that The key reason Roberto Firmino must be passed fit for Liverpool vs Barcelona in the first leg of their Champions League semi-final at Camp Nou, however.
Should Liverpool's Roberto Firmino fear – and Jurgen Klopp's options against Barcelona though, Origi is the man to step up to the plate, according to Reds legend Mark Lawrenson.
Origi has nudged ahead of Daniel Sturridge in the pecking order at Anfield in recent months and the Belgian international has earned the right to deputise against Barca, says former defender Lawrenson.
"No Roberto Firmino would be a massive miss for Liverpool , he is the common denominator in the front three," he told the ECHO.
The key reason Roberto Firmino must be passed fit for Liverpool vs Barcelona
"He just dovetails brilliantly with the other two (Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah) and he's such a clever player, too.
"I got loads of stick earlier this season when I said Liverpool's front three was better than Paris Saint-Germain's. This was before the game at Anfield and everyone gave me loads because PSG have Neymar, Kylian Mbappe and Edinson Cavani.
"They don't work as hard as Liverpool's because they don't have to and I'd still hold my point there. The Reds front three are better.
"Origi gives Liverpool something different to what Firmino does. He has great pace does Divock and can play alongside that frontline. He can even drift off to the left if he's asked too and we've seen that this season.
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"I wouldn't say missing Firmino 'weakens' Liverpool as Origi just offers something a bit different, but I'd like them to go to Barcelona with Roberto Firmino in the squad.
"As Klopp said it's a slight muscle tear, so hopefully he can still play a part. I'd guess an injury like that might keep him out for a week or so, but he sat out the Huddersfield game of course."
Speaking after the three points against Huddersfield, Klopp sounded his optimism that the 16-goal frontman can still play a part against the recently-crowned La Liga champions.
Liverpool's Roberto Firmino fear – and Jurgen Klopp's options against Barcelona
"I didn't see it in training, it happened after the last situation in training he felt a muscle a little bit," said Klopp .
“The official diagnosis is that he has a small tear in a very small muscle. Apart from the word 'tear' everything is positive.
“It's Bobby, so he might be ready for Wednesday but we don't know obviously at the moment.
“But because it's him, it's rather likely than not. But we will see.
“Of all the bad news we could get, it's probably the best. But it's still bad enough that he couldn't play tonight.”
Liverpool return to Premier League action when they travel to Newcastle United on Saturday evening.
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