Jurgen Klopp has confirmed Liverpool will not stand in Nat Phillips' way of leaving the club in January and that he doesn't expect his injury to scupper any potential exit either.
The centre-back was a standout performer for the Reds in midweek as they ran out 2-1 winners over AC Milan at the San Siro, but suffered a fractured cheekbone in the game which will see him sidelined for a number of weeks.
Making his first start of the season in Italy, the return of Virgil van Dijk, Joel Matip and Joe Gomez from injury along with the £36m arrival of Ibrahima Konate has seen the 24-year-old fall back down the Anfield pecking order after shining last season.
While Phillips is expected to move on in January as a result, despite signing a new contract extension in the summer after seeing a move fail to materialise, Klopp shared his delight at being able to retain the defender's services for the first half of the season.
READ MORE: Alessandro Del Piero makes blunt Liverpool claim over Champions League draw
READ MORE: Jurgen Klopp provides injury update on Diogo Jota and Divock Origi ahead of Liverpool vs Aston Villa
And revealing Liverpool have no intention of blocking any exit as things stand, he reassured any interested sides that they shouldn't be put off making a potential move because of the injury setback.
"I’m very happy that Nat is here, to be honest, but we will not block anything I think," the German told reporters. "It’s not the plan at all but who knows what happens until January.
"It’s not the luckiest moment for this but by the end of January he will be completely fine, definitely. Probably in the middle of January, I don’t know exactly.
"We will see everything will be completely fine. It’s not complicated, it’s just not cool.
"We will see what it does mean exactly but in the long term it’s no problem because everything will be fine for Nat, definitely."
