Liverpool striker Divock Origi could spend at least another month on the sidelines after undergoing minor knee surgery.

The 20-year-old has been out since Boxing Day after an impressive performance was cut short as he went down with a hamstring strain in the first-half of the Reds' 1-0 win over Leicester City.

The Belgian international was initially issued a three-week spell out of action with that problem, but with a return to training expected within the next week - Jürgen Klopp will now be without Origi until mid-February.

The decision was taken for the forward to go under the knife on a long-standing problem which has previously kept him out earlier this season and he flew back to Belgium to have the surgery last week.

With four goals in 16 games since moving to England, a year after he made his £10 million move from Lille, Origi's absence will be a big blow for Klopp - who is short of firepower with Christian Benteke firing and frustrating in equal measure.

Liverpool's medical team expect Origi to be out for another three to four weeks before returning to training.

Klopp has decisions to make up top with just one senior striker fit

Origi immediately feels the extent of his injury in the win over Leicester. (Picture: Getty Images)
Origi immediately feels the extent of his injury in the win over Leicester. (Picture: Getty Images)

He could miss up to eight games in all competitions, including the second-leg of their Capital One Cup semi-final with Stoke City which they currently lead 1-0 on aggregate, and huge Premier League clashes with Arsenal and Manchester United.

With Benteke's performances having disappointed in recent weeks, Klopp could turn to having Roberto Firmino up-front though fellow Brazilian Philippe Coutinho, whom he has looked at his best alongside, is currently nursing a hamstring issue sustained at Stoke.

As such, Jerome Sinclair is an outside option for the front-line after the teenage striker, currently caught in stalled contract negotiations with the club, scoring his first goal in a red shirt in the FA Cup last Friday.

Elsewhere, Danny Ings is out for the remainder of the season after a cruciate ligament injury and Daniel Sturridge is yet to return to full first-team training since succumbing to a hamstring strain in the late stages of a defeat to Newcastle United on December 6.

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About the author
Charlie Malam
Digital Sports Writer at the Daily Express. First-class Staffordshire University Sports Journalism graduate. Formerly VAVEL UK's Liverpool FC editor and Deputy Editor-in-Chief. Contributor since June 2014.