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Defensive reinforcements were at the top of the wish list of most Liverpool fans this season, and while the quantity brought in may not yet be to the satisfaction of many, competition at left back arrived in the form of Aly Cissokho and Kolo Toure went from grudgingly tolerated back-up to cult favourite in the span of just a few matches. Of course, because we can't have nice things, both new recruits left the match early due to injury, leaving Brendan Rodgers to survey his increasingly depleted stock of defenders.
"Kolo Toure, we need to assess it," Rodgers stated. "His groin opened up a wee bit. He overstretched his groin and it doesn't look so good, to be honest. Yes, [Martin Skrtel] will be fine. Tonight was too soon for him but he's been back training for a few days.
"Cissokho was devastated. He shouldn't be too long. He's got a knock in his ankle. He was distraught to come off in his first start here. We'll know more in the morning but it wasn't a good night injury-wise."
A fresh-from-injury Skrtel paired with a three-matches-in-eight-days Daniel Agger should bring all the positive feelings ahead of Manchester United's visit to Anfield on Sunday, but Rodgers doesn't have many (read: any) other choices barring a bold decision to start Andre Wisdom next to Agger or a centre back saviour parachuting into Liverpool in the dying days of the transfer window.
Whether it's pure coincidence or the work of savvy rumour mongers happy to capitaize on Liverpool's misfortune, stories linking Mamadou Sakho to a move to Merseyside have resurfaced again after the story first popped up in June. Several periodicals of note, including the Daily Mail and talkSPORT, have revived the story in which a deal could go through quickly if only PSG and Liverpool could agree on a fee. Sakho was previously "flattered" to be linked to a move to Merseyside, but it remains to be revealed whether or not he whiled away many youthful hours playing as the club in everyone's favourite football video game.
The silver lining many are hoping to take from this injury predicament is the possibility that it will finally force the club's ownership to sign a centre back before the transfer window closes. Whether that player is Sakho, the often linked Kyriakos Papadopoulos, or someone else entirely is still up in the air, but it will have to be a job that gets done quickly, and not just to avoid another Spurs entanglement.