The sight of Thiago Alcantara pitch-side at Anfield on Wednesday was a brief reminder of what Liverpool will miss between now and the end of the season.
As his team-mates went through their pre-match warm-ups for the visit of Fulham, Thiago was instead permitted to stand on the sidelines where the only passes he could be seen playing were to his young son with goalkeeper coach Claudio Taffarel.
Thiago's campaign is over and he will play no part in the final four games against Brentford, Leicester, Aston Villa and Southampton after suffering a recurrence of a hip flexor issue that has troubled him for the last few months. A minor operation is now required to correct the issue meaning Jurgen Klopp will be unable to count upon one of his most experienced and pedigreed midfielders as the outside battle for a place in the top four goes on.
