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Lallana out for six weeks with ligament damage

Adam Lallana suffered a knee injury at Liverpool's pre-season camp in Boston © Getty Images

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Liverpool's £25 million summer signing Adam Lallana will miss the Premier League kick-off next month after suffering knee ligament damage in pre-season training in the United States.

The winger, who joined Liverpool from Southampton earlier this month, is expected to miss six weeks with the injury.

That will include a meeting with his old club on the opening day of the season and could extend into September, depending on how quickly he can recover from the injury.

The news is a bitter blow for manager Brendan Rodgers, with Lallana now absent from the remainder of the club's American tour as he will fly back to Merseyside for treatment. As well as the Southampton game at Anfield on opening day, Lallana is expected to miss key fixtures against Manchester City and Tottenham as well as two England games. He could be back to face Everton in the Merseyside derby at Anfield on September 27, however.

Lallana, who was not involved in the 1-0 defeat to Roma earlier this week, suffered the injury during an innocuous spell in training at Harvard university with doctors discovering damage to the lateral collateral knee ligament.

On the positive side, scans have revealed that Lallana does not require surgery, which would have sidelined him for around double the amount of time, with Liverpool said to be relieved the injury wasn't more serious.

Rodgers, however, is expected to bolster his squad over the course of the weekend, with Dejan Lovren expected to complete a £20m move from Southampton, while strikers Loic Remy and Divock Origi have both undergone medicals at the club's pre-season camp in Boston.

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