Jordan Henderson has conceded Liverpool will miss the quality of both Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane while the pair are away representing their respective national teams at the Africa Cup of Nations.
The Reds will have to make do without their two top scorers for the remainder of January and potentially into the early weeks of February depending on how far Egypt and Senegal progress.
Their absence comes at a particularly unwelcome time for Jurgen Klopp who would love to have both Salah and Mane to call upon as Liverpool look to get their title tilt back on track.
Liverpool currently sit third in the league table 11 points adrift of table-toppers Manchester City and one point behind second-placed Chelsea, though they have a game in hand over Thomas Tuchel's men.
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Henderson has explained how the Liverpool players that are still on Merseyside wish the Reds representatives at AFCON nothing but the best.
"As well as the players who are unavailable through injury or illness, we will also be missing Mo Salah, Sadio Mane and Naby Keita, who are currently involved in the Africa Cup of Nations in Cameroon.
"It goes without saying that we will miss players of their quality – any team in the world would – but in the dressing room we have only best wishes for the three of them as they play for their countries in a massive tournament.
"Having represented England in major tournaments, I know how special that kind of experience is and how much pride it can bring to players and their families, so I hope Mo, Sadio and Naby all enjoy it as much as they possibly can and do themselves proud before returning to Liverpool.
The Reds skipper continued by insisting that the Anfield show will go on without them as Liverpool try to bounce back from a recent run of inconsistent form.
"In their absence we will look to keep pushing on," Henderson added.
"As I said at the outset, things aren’t straightforward at the moment but we have always responded well to adversity and we need to do the same now.
"We have had a few results that have fallen short of what we would have wanted, but the only way to put that right is by rolling our sleeves up and getting it right on the pitch – starting today."
Liverpool are gearing up for two Carabao Cup clashes against Arsenal with a Premier League contest at home to Brentford wedged in between the games against the Gunners.
