Danny Ings has suffered yet another knee injury that will keep him out for the entire season.
The Liverpool striker missed almost all of last season - his first at Anfield since joining from Burnley - after tearing the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee.
He worked hard on his recovery and was able to play in the final game of last season against West Brom, and Kop boss Jurgen Klopp had big plans for the ex-Clarets man this season.
But he has now suffered another devastating injury blow. He hurt his right knee when he came on from the bench in Liverpool's EFL Cup win over Tottenham last week, and the club's medical staff have now discovered that it was worse than feared - with surgery required to repair the cartilage damage.
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Daily Mail's Dominic King reports that Ings, 24, has been sent to London to see knee specialist Andy Williams, who also dealt with Danny Welbeck's problem last season.
According to King, Ings' injury is understood to be similar to that which Arsenal striker Welbeck suffered last term.
Klopp said: "To say we are gutted would be an understatement; he is such a great boy and has worked so hard that he deserves better luck than this.
"It is typical of Danny's personality, on and off the pitch, that he picked up this injury to his knee when courageously trying to win the ball back for his team by making a tackle.
"But it is this same personality that means he will come back as good and as strong from this latest setback as he has done in the past.
"I'm told the likely lay off is anywhere from between seven to nine months. He is mentally strong, physically strong and will have the very best treatment and rehab possible to make sure when he returns he is ready to play for us at the level we know he is capable of."
Ings attracted interest from a host of clubs in the summer, but each enquiry was dismissed by Liverpool at Klopp's insistence.
"He is a wonderful boy,’ Klopp said in October. "It's not the easiest thing when a player works really hard and then he is not involved, so of course you want to give the player something back for the unrest."
Devastated Liverpool fans took to Twitter after the news was announced to wish Ings well:
https://twitter.com/UnityFootball_/status/793771918482628608
https://twitter.com/Vintage_Klopp/status/793771285398642689
https://twitter.com/Liverpudli4n/status/793771103613255682
https://twitter.com/MartySikora/status/793770722699141121
https://twitter.com/JohnsonMatt2000/status/793770492767395840
https://twitter.com/loonyroon/status/793772286411153408
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"I'm told the likely lay off is anywhere from between seven to nine months. He is mentally strong, physically strong and will have the very best treatment and rehab possible to make sure when he returns he is ready to play for us at the level we know he is capable of."
Ings attracted interest from a host of clubs in the summer, but each enquiry was dismissed by Liverpool at Klopp's insistence.
