Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp admits they won't see Thiago Alcantara until next year.
The Spain midfielder hasn't been seen in action since February. Thiago underwent surgery in April and suffered a setback in preseason.
Klopp said on Friday: "Thiago is an ongoing thing. We cannot put any pressure in there as well.
"But we expect him to be back, I would probably say start of the New Year.
"It's now already November. That would mean another four weeks, I would say that is probably realistic thing to try. I can't wait to have him back. The player is just exceptional. I understand why you ask but we can't have a week by week update because it will not change a lot in this moment."