Reina Absence Confirmed for Anzhi Match

We haven't had many discussions about Liverpool's goalkeeping over the years--last season we had to talk about it when Pepe Reina was sent off against Newcastle and Doni was subsequently sent off at Blackburn, but beyond that we haven't been prone to spending too much time doing anything other than continually running Reina's name at the top of the starting eleven in the matchday thread.

And yet now we're on our third or fourth goalkeeper post of the week, all due to an slight injury Reina suffered while on international duty with Spain. It proved to be enough to keep him out of the Reading match at the weekend, with Brad Jones deputizing admirably, and now it looks as though it'll be enough to delay his return beyond tomorrow night's Europa League match with Anzhi Makhachkala:

"We're not quite sure [how long he'll be out for] at the moment. Hopefully, it won't be too long. He's doing his rehab at the moment and he's working hard in training. We've just got to assess him over the weekend and we'll see then."

Colin Pascoe's words might not come as a complete surprise--with an emphasis on success in the Premier League thus far, seeing Jones or Peter Gulacsi wouldn't have been a complete shock, even if Reina's featured regularly in the Europa League. With Reina speaking openly about his plans for a return in the derby, though, those anticipating having him back in goal will have to hope that ruling him out for tomorrow is simply precautionary to ensure full fitness and readiness for the trip to Goodison on Sunday.