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On the same day that Liverpool brought in a new defensive signing with the official arrival of Aly Cissokho on a loan-to-buy deal, news emerged that centre half Sebastian Coates will have to undergo surgery and is expected to miss six months with a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee.
The 22-year-old centre half suffered the injury while on duty with Uruguay last week as they took on Japan in a friendly, but it had initially been believed that it was only a strain. Further tests revealed however that it was far more serious, and Coates will return to South America to undergo surgery in Sao Paulo before being allowed to recover at home in Montevideo.
Coates was unlikely to feature heavily for Liverpool, with every sign pointing to the Uruguayan having fallen behind Andre Wisdom on the depth chart, but for the player it's yet another setback in a career that has seemed to have nothing go right in it since he left boyhood club Nacional behind and headed to England following a stellar showing as Young Player of the Tournament at the 2011 Copa America.
It also likely makes a move elsewhere for the player, either on loan or permanently, impossible before next summer.