Jamie Redknapp has admitted Liverpool will need to dip into the transfer market if Joe Gomez is ruled out for a significant period of time but has warned clubs will drive their price tags up due to their injury crisis.
The Liverpool defender pulled out of the England squad on Wednesday after suffering a knee injury in training.
Whilst there has been no official diagnosis on the severity of the injury, there are fears Gomez could be facing a lengthy spell on the sidelines.
With Virgil van Dijk also out for the foreseeable future, Liverpool are left with Joel Matip and Fabinho, who is also currently in the treatment room, as their only senior centre-back options.
The Reds had already been touted to add another defender before Gomez's injury but this latest blow could accelerate any transfer plans.
Whilst Redknapp agrees it's necessary for them to drip into the market, he believes a replacement won't come cheap with clubs likely to drive a hard bargain knowing Liverpool are short.
"It’s a difficult one," Redknapp told Sky Sports’ Pitch to Post podcast.
"I’ve heard people say that they’ve got to go out and get a really big signing because Virgil is going to be injured, but if he goes through the right rehab to get fit, he’s not going to be too far away from coming back in maybe March or April time as a guess.
"Normally it’s six or seven months, he’s an incredibly fit guy and he’ll be a good healer. ‘You don’t want to bring in someone for the sake of it for £40m or £50m because you know you’ve got someone coming back really quickly but if you’ve lost Gomez as well, you’re certainly looking to get into the market and try and bring in someone in January or as quickly as you can, be it a loan, be it a signing – but it’s not going to be easy to get players in.
"There are fears Gomez could be sidelined for months rather than weeks. Your hands are tied to a certain extent because straight away, everyone knows you’re desperate so the prices are going to get inflated.
"Liverpool have worked the market so well, they’ve not always bought the big stars, they’ve made then stars. Virgil may be the opposite, they paid £75m for him but what his fee now would be, maybe three times as much as that because he’s such an incredible player.
"Defenders are at a premium because there are not many good ones around that can play like Virgil, that can defend like Joe Gomez, who is still a young man.
"I really hope it’s weeks rather than months but I don’t like the rumours that are coming out of the squad."
