Can to miss up to six weeks

Liverpool midfielder Emre Can has been ruled out for up to six weeks after rupturing ankle ligaments in Thursday’s dramatic victory over Borussia Dortmund, the Merseyside club have announced.

The Germany international sustained the injury in the closing stages of the 4-3 win which completed a 5-4 aggregate success over Thomas Tuchel’s side.

Liverpool’s reward was to be paired with Villarreal in the semi-finals but Can will miss both ties, scheduled for April 28 and May 5, with captain and fellow midfielder Jordan Henderson also out for the season.

The club remain hopeful that Can can return before the end of the campaign, however, and Reds boss Jurgen Klopp was refusing to be downbeat about the 22-year-old’s absence.

He said at a news conference: “We have to find other solutions. It’s not about moaning about losing Emre.

“It’s a ligament in the ankle. It’s not the best news but we’ll try everything to get him back.”

Klopp added: “We cannot change this, we will try to bring the boy back as soon as possible.

“There is hope for a few things. We should not say his season is finished but if he’s not available then we have to deal with it.

“Emre was in really good shape. You could see he felt secure, confident and he used his skills like he should, not always running with the ball like he did in the past. 

“He played man’s football which was good to see. Now he’s injured and we have to see. “