Liverpool midfielder Bruno Cheyrou has been ruled out of action for at least two weeks and will miss Sunday's crunch Premiership clash with Manchester United.
French international Cheyrou limped out of Liverpool's 1-0 UEFA Cup win over Vitesse Arnhem in Holland last night and his groin injury will need at least two weeks of recovery time, the club said today.
Liverpool boss Gerard Houllier admitted that he had rested a number of key players yesterday in preparation for Sunday's showdown at Anfield.
Jamie Carragher, Dietmar Hamann and John Arne Riise were left at home while Vladimir Smicer and Emile Heskey were on the bench.
All five should be fit to play and Houllier is expected to keep faith with keeper Jerzy Dudek, despite some recent lapses and rising pressure from him to give England under-21 star Chris Kirkland an extended run in the first team.
Manchester United are assessing the fitness of experienced centre-back Laurent Blanc. The veteran French international has been out since limping off last Saturday during the 5-3 win over Newcastle with a calf strain.
Blanc missed Tuesday's Champions League win against Basel in Switzerland and has been under intensive treatment all week in a bid to get him ready for the trip to Merseyside.
With Rio Ferdinand, David Beckham, Roy Keane, Nicky Butt and Gary Neville all sidelined with injuries, United boss Alex Ferguson desperately needs to see Blanc fit enough to line up in the centre of the defence alongside Wes Brown.
John O'Shea is regarded as Blanc's long-term successor but the young Waterford'd defender's inexperience, and lack of outstanding pace, was exposed against FC Basel in midweek, forcing Ferguson to switch him to left back and put Mikael Silvestre into the middle.
If Blanc is fit, O'Shea is likely to move to right-back with Phil Neville making way.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer should continue to fill David Beckham's role on the right flank with South African winger Quinton Fortune remaining in the centre of midfield alongside Juan Sebastian Veron.