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Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp has confirmed central defender Dejan Lovren will remain out of action until at least after the international break.

The Croatian defender has been unable to train let alone play for the Reds since returning from the World Cup. And Lovren - who's struggled to win fans over since joining the club - admitted he'd played through pain during the World Cup this summer, leaving him unable to feature for the Merseyside club in the Premier League so far.

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Klopp has now confirmed that Lovren's spell on the sidelines is set to continue for another two weeks, and that he'll miss the next two games against Brighton and Leicester City.

When asked at his Friday press conference if Lovren would be available for Saturday's game, Klopp said, according to the Liverpool Echo: "No. He’s coming closer but he’s not really around team training at the moment.

"I am not 100% sure what he is doing today (Friday). He will not be involved in the game, and I am pretty sure he has no chance for the Leicester game as well.

"Then hopefully after the international break he will be ready to go, that would be nice. That was the target from the first day he was in and we knew about his problems. We always thought if we could give him that time, it would be cool."

The news of Lovren's continued injury concerns will mean that young centre back Joe Gomez should retain his position at the heart of Liverpool's defence alongside Virgil van Dijk. The youngster has performed admirably next to the Dutchman, and with Liverpool still yet to concede a Premier League goal in 180 minutes of action.

Lovren however faces yet another wait before starting his domestic season, and the earliest he could be seen in a Liverpool shirt will be the Reds' trip to Tottenham Hotspur on September 15th.