Liverpool travels to Brighton at the weekend, looking to improve on its 3-0 reversal earlier this month. Roberto Firmino is one of those who will not be fit.

It’s one of those seasons where almost everything has gone wrong for Liverpool. Injuries are certainly high up Jürgen Klopp’s list of complaints.

While the signing of Cody Gakpo has eased the pressure on the front line, the absence of Roberto Firmino has stretched on, exacerbated until the last match against Chelsea by a small problem for Darwin Núñez.

Though the Uruguayan has returned, Luis Díaz and Diogo Jota are long-term absentees, with Liverpool not having been able to call on either of them since October. Their comebacks cannot come soon enough. The defense and midfield has seen more than its fair share of setbacks as well.

But Liverpool could not explain away the 3-0 thumping at the hands of Brighton recently through injuries alone, and there will be understandable trepidation about travelling to the Amex again for the fourth round of the FA Cup at the weekend — regardless of who is fit. Nevertheless, injury boosts would be welcome ahead of what is sure to be a testing fixture, with Klopp looking to build on a tentative run of consecutive clean sheets.

Here at Liverpool.com, we try to keep you up to date on the latest injury news after each and every game. Here’s how things are shaping up ahead of the clash with Roberto De Zerbi’s side.

Van Dijk has been missing since he was forced to come off at half time against Brentford on January 3. He has suffered damage to his hamstring.

Klopp specified that the injury, which was initially thought to be minor, is ‘somewhere in between’ short and long-term, with the Dutchman set to be missing for ‘a few weeks’ (via LFC). With no return to training having yet occurred, he is certain to still be missing for the FA Cup clash with Brighton.

It’s thought that he faces a race to be fit for the Champions League last-16 tie against Real Madrid, the first leg of which takes place on February 21.

Roberto Firmino

Liverpool expected Firmino to be back within two weeks or so when he first picked up a knock around the time that Premier League action resumed. But then he ‘felt something’, and his spell on the sidelines has now crossed the one-month mark.

Klopp doesn’t yet know when the attacker will return, but he warned that he isn’t ‘close to team training’ (via LFC), meaning the Brazilian leads a trio of attacking absentees at Brighton.

Luis Díaz

Díaz was due to be back in action after the World Cup, following a two-month lay-off. But he then suffered a setback in Dubai, and is now not expected to feature until March. The latest update came from the player’s own social media, where he shared a video showing him undertaking gym work at the AXA Training Centre as part of his continued rehabilitation.

Diogo Jota

Another long-term absentee, the last update on Jota was a positive one (via LFC). Klopp confirmed that the forward is ‘out on the pitch’ at Kirkby, looking ‘really good’ and doing ‘a lot of stuff already’. The manager confessed he was not certain, but speculated that Jota could have a part to play against Real Madrid.

Calvin Ramsay

There has been some speculation about Ramsay’s fitness, with the Scot absent from the matchday squad against Chelsea, and with James Milner chosen to start at right-back in the absence of Trent Alexander-Arnold. But judging by his latest interview with the LFC website, Ramsay is not only available for Brighton, but itching to impress.

He appeared to confirm that his absence was a tactical decision from Klopp, who was an onlooker as Ramsay earned himself a red card for the under-21s against Tottenham earlier this month:

“We’ve got massive games coming up and games I want to be involved in, so for me it is about trying to get into the squad for games and hopefully trying to get some minutes on the pitch.”

Fit now, injuries have nonetheless been a disruptive presence in Ramsay’s fledgling Liverpool career, with a back injury picked up on his medical having delayed his competitive debut for months.

Arthur Melo

There’s no major change on the Arthur front. The deadline day loan arrival has still only played 13 minutes of competitive action for Liverpool, having undergone surgery to address a training injury in October. The initial prognosis was that he would be out for three to four months, and Fabrizio Romano reported on January 19 that the Brazilian should be back fit ‘in the next few weeks’, which would more or less fit with the original timeline.

However, it is hard to imagine Klopp throwing Arthur in at the deep end even once he is back fit. It remains to be seen whether he can add to his meagre tally of Liverpool minutes to date.

Liverpool is a city that knows how to party so it will be the perfect host for Eurovision 2023 on behalf of Ukraine. And if you want to make sure you don’t miss out on all the latest news about this massive celebration then you should sign up for the ECHO’s Eurovision 2023 bulletins.

We’ll be sharing behind-the-scenes secrets, gossip about the acts and ways you can get involved in the contest – from bottomless prosecco brunches to Liverpool City Council’s plans for events around the region.

The bulletins will be written by our Eurovision reporter Christopher Megrath, a self-confessed Eurovision obsessive, who has been meeting with the organisers to find out the exciting things in store.

Julian Ward’s time at the helm at Liverpool, as the club’s sporting director, will be brief. He will have spent just one year at the club when he departs at the end of the season, but despite the short amount of time, he may leave an enduring legacy as part of the FSG backroom setup.

Ward played a crucial role in helping to put together the foundations of Jürgen Klopp’s new generation of Liverpool stars. In the summer, he invested heavily in young players, and continued that with the addition of Cody Gakpo in the January window.

But that has always been part of the FSG philosophy. Another, more unique feature of Ward’s dealings has been his increased willingness to allow young players from the club’s academy to depart on loan. Over the summer, a whole plethora of Liverpool youngsters were sent out on loan to experience first team senior football for the first time.

And he has continued that in January, sending yet more youngsters to temporary destinations around the footballing world.

One of those is Jarell Quansah, who has moved to Bristol Rovers in League One, the club has confirmed. He has been the captain of the club’s U19 UEFA Youth League side as well as an U19 European Champion with England.

Quansah will join a fairly stable and tactically disciplined mid-table side in Bristol Rovers, led by former Manchester City footballer Joey Barton. He will be in a league that has often been the springboard for Premier League teenagers to make their mark in senior football, and crucially he joins a team who are in need of center-backs, which means he should get a regular run of minutes at this level.

A comfortable defender on the ball, Quansah reads the game well, but physically he can still improve and League One will be an ideal place for him to develop that side of the game and test himself against senior footballers on a regular basis.

From Liverpool’s point of view, Quansah can also soon become a player on the periphery of the first team, which means this loan move couldn’t have come at a better time for all parties involved.

Very shortly, possibly as soon as the January transfer window, Liverpool may be losing Nathaniel Phillips, who will likely want to depart for pastures new. And in turn Klopp will lose a defender who is currently his fifth-choice centre-back in the Liverpool first team.

That doesn’t make Phillips an indispensable part of the team, but it does make him a useful member of the squad, especially in the event of an injury crisis like the one during the 2020/21 season. With Virgil van Dijk currently out, Klopp will have been handed a timely reminder.

Should Phillips leave, either now or in the summer, Quansah could have an opportunity. If he catches the eye at Bristol Rovers, he may naturally become the successor in that emergency role in the Liverpool squad, and in turn, FSG could save millions in transfer fees by negating the need to find and sign a back-up.

A cordon has been put in place on a road in Kirkby.

Officers have been at the scene of an incident, since around 6.30am on Thursday, January 26, on Quernmore Road.

It is believed that the incident relates to a house fire on the street.

Police have confirmed that two people, in their 50s, have been taken to hospital.

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Quernmore Road in both directions remains closed due to building fire between Clorain Road and Brook Hey Drive.

Police and firefighters are still at the scene while investigations into how the fire started are taking place.

This is the other side of the cordon on Quernmore Road in Kirkby. Firefighters were called here at 6.10am and arrived on scene 5 minutes later. Investigations are being carried out into the cause of the fire. An SP Energy Networks van arrived here a short time ago pic.twitter.com/bkWcUn3l1c

Another witness said he was on the way to the shop when he saw smoke billowing above nearby houses.

He said: “As I came around the corner I just saw the fire blazing.”

Merseyside police confirm they remain at the scene of a house fire.

They have said that officers remain at the scene, alongside fire fighters, to carry out investigations and try and establish the cause of the fire.

Merseyside police have confirmed that two people, in their 50s, have been taken to hospital.

ECHO reporter Charlotte Hadfield is at the scene of a house fire this morning.

The scene is at the end of Quernmore Road, just before the junction with Clorain Road in Kirkby.

Liverpool travels to Brighton at the weekend, looking to improve on its 3-0 reversal earlier this month. Roberto Firmino is one of those who will not be fit.

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