• Brazil midfielder has damaged ligaments in his right knee
• Coates to leave Liverpool and rejoin Nacional on loan

The Liverpool midfielder Lucas Leiva is expected to be on the sidelines for up to two months with a knee ligament injury.

It is understood the Brazil midfielder has damaged the medial collateral ligament in his right knee.

Although not as serious as an injury to a cruciate ligament – the 27-year-old ruptured the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee in November 2011 – it will still keep the midfielder out for six to eight weeks, which would take him into March.

Lucas sustained the injury just 20 minutes after coming on as a half-time substitute in Saturday’s 2-2 draw at home to Aston Villa. He told manager Brendan Rodgers he heard “a click” in his right knee following a challenge with Fabian Delph and subsequently left the ground on crutches, later tweeting: “It is in GOD hands.”

Lucas had been left out of the starting lineup as Rodgers opted to play captain Steven Gerrard in a holding role for the second successive match, allowing him to field a more attacking side with the returning striker Daniel Sturridge accommodated at the Brazilian’s expense.

The experiment did not work and Rodgers corrected his mistake at half-time and Lucas’s arrival did allow the Reds to regain some control. With Liverpool looking to hold on to fourth place in the Premier League, Rodgers could be tempted to find additional cover in the transfer window as he has been short in the area of defensive midfielders for some time.

He still sees Gerrard as being able to perform a role but most of his other midfield options – Jordan Henderson, Joe Allen and Luis Alberto – are all more offensively minded players.

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theguardian.com