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Following earlier reports Daniel Sturridge would be a definite absence for Wednesday's Capital One Cup tie with Bournemouth comes news that Christian Benteke will be joining him on the injured list for at least one match. The Belgian international, who has already missed a month and eight games due to a thigh injury this season, has been ruled out with a knee injury.
He reportedly picked up the injury late on against Southampton on the weekend, and it is currently not known how serious it is. It is believed there may be some ligament damage, and it is likely already safe to say that he will not be available when Liverpool face Chelsea on Saturday. In a worst case scenario, he could be set to join Danny Ings on the injured list for the rest of the season.
Even in the best case scenario, he's not likely to play again this week. Neither, in the best case scenario, is Sturridge. It means Jürgen Klopp will go into the cup tie and then the clash with Chelsea with only one fit senior striker on his squad, the 20-year-old Divock Origi. The youngster has run hard when given chances in recent weeks, but his end product has been lacking to say the least.
After missing most of the 2013-14 season with a ruptured achilles tendon and a series of knee problems, some Liverpool fans were leery of signing Benteke for £32.5M over the summer, seeing in him another potential Daniel Sturridge—a talented striker when fit but also a player who might not be available much of the time. It looks now as though such fears were well founded.