Liverpool To Be Without Key Forward Ahead Of Villarreal Clash, Confirms Jurgen Klopp

Liverpool FC will be without their key forward Roberto Firmino during their UEFA Champions League clash with Villarreal on Wednesday.

Firmino, who sustained a foot injury during Liverpool's FA Cup semi-final clash against Manchester City earlier this month, has not recovered fully, the Reds boss Jurgen Klopp confirmed Tuesday.

"I don't think [he is ready] yet. He is running outside and that's good, obviously, but I am not sure. Maybe somebody will surprise me afterward and tell me, 'Yes, Bobby is in.' [I will have] open arms, but I don't think so," Klopp told Liverpool's official website on the eve of their game against Villarreal.

"Apart from that, no [new injuries] that I know yet," added Klopp.

Liverpool defeated Benfica 6-4 on aggregate in the quarter-final of the 2021-22 Champions League. Their next opponent Villarreal eliminated the likes of Juventus and Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich from the tournament.

Meanwhile, the Reds skipper Jordan Henderson admitted that the match against Villarreal at Anfield is going to be a "tough" fixture, especially since "experienced manager" Unai Emery is in charge of the Spanish club.

"They're a very good team. I think you've seen that over the performances, not only in the Champions League, [but] some performances in the league. The ones that stick out would be Juve and Bayern, which just shows the quality they have. They have a very experienced manager who has done a great job, so it'll be another really, really tough test as any semi-final in the Champions League would be. We need to be at 100 percent if we want to get anything from the game," Henderson said in a pre-match interview.

Klopp's Liverpool will go into Wednesday's game being unbeaten in 10 matches across all competitions. Their last loss came against Inter Milan in their Round of 16 second leg at Anfield in March.