Klopp confirms Joel Matip hammer blow amid Alexis Mac Allister injury update - 'unfortunately what I expected'

Jurgen Klopp has confirmed Liverpool defender Joel Matip has ruptured his ACL - and is set for a prolonged period on the sidelines.

The defender was withdrawn in the Reds' 4-3 victory over Fulham last weekend. Matip went down innocuously and Klopp feared it would be a serious setback.

Speaking after Liverpool's 2-0 win at Sheffield United, Klopp provided the latest on Matip - and delivered the bad news he expected. The Liverpool manager said: "It's an ACL, ruptured. That's unfortunately what I expected from the first second. Everything looked like that and very unfortunate but that's it."

To add to Liverpool's frustrations, Alexis Mac Allister was forced off in the second half against Sheffield United. The midfielder was on the end of a nasty challenge in the first half which caused a cut and he could not continue having had stitches. Klopp now awaits further news on the severity of Mac Allister's issue.

Klopp added: "He stepped on his knee, a cut. As long as the wound was open, we just strapped it. It was painful, he could play, we switched it, got a bitter tighter then he couldn't move. We will have to see how long it will take. I hope not too long."