Liverpool Starlet Set for Spell on the Sidelines After Suffering Ankle Injury

Liverpool's Under-23s side are expected to be without skipper Matty Virtue for several weeks, after the midfielder sustained an ankle injury in the Reds' 3-1 victory over Leicester City at the beginning of the month.

The 21-year-old has played the entirety of Liverpool's Premier League 2 matches, before he was forced off in the 79th minute in the win against the Foxes. 

Virtue is the top scorer for the Reds' development squad this season with six goals in 10 appearances, but manager Neil Critchley confirmed that the midfielder's form was set to be halted by a lengthy spell on the sidelines.

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As quoted by the official Liverpool website, Critchley said: "Matty is going to be out for a good few weeks unfortunately.

"We showed a great response to the defeat at Blackburn by beating Leicester City, but that victory was somewhat soured and dampened by Matty’s injury."

The Reds sit eighth in the table and travel to Goodison Park for the Merseyside Derby against city rivals and league-leaders Everton. The Toffees are nine points ahead of Liverpool and Critchley indicated that the absence of Virtue, who has scored five of the Reds' last nine goals, would be a huge blow for the side.

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"It was an innocuous incident where he went over on his ankle. There was no one near him really, and it was late on in the game. Unfortunately, we have lost him for a number of weeks and he is going to be a big miss for us because he has been playing like a captain and scoring goals from midfield.

"He has risen to the challenge of what we asked him to do and he is a miss for us. Now an opportunity comes for somebody else."