(Reuters) - Liverpool defender Dejan Lovren will miss Saturday's Premier League match against Watford with a muscle injury and there is no timeframe yet on when he will return to action, manager Juergen Klopp said on Friday.
With fellow centre back Joel Matip also nursing a knee injury, Klopp said the league leaders had only two fit senior centre backs to choose from, with Virgil van Dijk and Joe Gomez set to play against the bottom side.
"Dejan is out (for the Watford game)," Klopp told a news conference. "Muscle injury, it's more serious than last time. We don't have a timeframe... We have problems.
"Two fit centre backs is a concern, it's not the first time we are in a situation like this. Last year, one game Fabinho played at centre half. Unfortunately, he is out as well, it's not too cool.
"In the moment we have two, we should take care of them, pack them in cotton wool and ask them what they want to do in training... Apart from that, we have to be creative, we have the kids... Ki-Jana (Hoever) and Sepp (van den Berg)."
Earlier on Friday, Liverpool announced that Klopp had signed a contract extension that would keep him at Anfield until 2024 -- which would be his longest spell at a club after spending seven years each at Mainz 05 and Borussia Dortmund.
(Reporting by Rohith Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Toby Davis)
