The injury to Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson has caused a major headache for Jurgen Klopp ahead of their UEFA Super Cup clash against Chelsea this week.
The Reds face their Premier League rivals in Istanbul on Wednesday in annual season opener for European competitions.
Liverpool got their top-flight campaign up and running with a 4-1 win over Norwich on Friday night but the routine win was marred by an injury to Alisson.
The Brazilian was forced off with a calf problem in the first-half and there are fears he could be crocked for up to eight weeks.
Ex-West Ham keeper Adrian, signed on a free over the summer, replaced last season’s Golden Glove winner at Anfield and will now play a key role over the coming weeks.
But should the Spanarid also pick up a problem of any kind, things could get highly problematic for Klopp and co.
According the Reds, they are likely to turn to Caoimhin Kelleher as Adrian’s understudy for the Super Cup fixture.
The youngster has just returned to training following a broken wrist and Klopp believes he is there only real option.
The German said: “Caoimhin is not [injured], he is back in training but not at 100 per cent. We have to see how he reacts now.
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“One of the very young ones is not even allowed to play, he is only 16 [Jakub Ojrzynski], and the other one [Vitezslav Jaros] had an elbow injury early in the pre-season, so we’re a bit short in that position.”
It has been claimed this week that Liverpool are considering signing veteran goalkeeper Andy Lonergan following Alisson’s injury.
Lonergan, who trained with the Reds during the summer, is a free agent after being released by Middlesbrough at the end of last season.
But it appears Kelleher will be in their squad to face Chelsea on Wednesday.
The 20-year-old from Cork joined Liverpool from Ireland’s Ringmahon Rangers in 2015 and has since progressed from the academy to the first-team fold.
He has featured regularly for the Reds youth sides in recent years and made 11 Premier League 2 appearances for the Under-23s last season.
He is yet to make his senior debut but was on the bench for their Champions League final win over Tottenham in June and for their FA Cup third round defeat to Wolves in January.
He received his first senior call-up to the Republic of Ireland national team in November 2018 but is yet to win his first cap.
Kelleher signed an improved contract with Liverpool last August and made three friendly appearances for the senior side in pre-season last summer.
He said: “The manager has said I’m doing really well at the moment and to keep going the way I am. The contract is just a sign of how well I’ve been doing.
“[My ambitions now are] just playing games with the U23s and training here every day. I’m improving every day, training with the players. That’ll be my aim.”
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