Arne Slot provides crunch Cody Gakpo injury update | OneFootball

Arne Slot has confirmed that in-form winger Cody Gakpo will not feature in Liverpool's Premier League clash with Aston Villa on Wednesday night.

Gakpo has been rejuvenated since linking up with compatriot Slot, struggling to nail down a regular starting role last season. He has been Liverpool's chief option on the left flank, forcing Luis Diaz into a somewhat alien central role to fit both into the team.

But Gakpo missed Sunday's win over Wolves with a knock and isn't ready to return just yet, declared "unavailable" to face Villa by Slot when the boss spoke to reporters.

Diaz will likely play from the left against Villa, with Diogo Jota or Darwin Nunez to lead the line. Curtis Jones is also back from suspension after sitting out the Wolves game due to the red card shown to him after the final whistle in the recent hot-tempered Merseyside derby.

The positive news on Gakpo, at least, is that "Cody is close to being back", suggesting he could be in contention by the time Liverpool face Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium on 23 February.

Joe Gomez is set for a longer spell on the sidelines / Dan Mullan/GettyImages

There was less good news about versatile defender Joe Gomez, who looks set to miss most of the rest of the season and could even require surgery on his hamstring injury.

Gomez's Liverpool career has been blighted by injuries, but he managed to stay fit last season and rack up 51 appearances across all competitions. Unfortunately, the England international has been suffering with his hamstring all year and lasted just 11 minutes into his attempted comeback in the FA Cup against Plymouth Argyle earlier this month. He won't return any time soon.

"He will miss large parts of the end of the season but we expect him to be back. He might need surgery but that's something we still have to assess," Slot explained.

"It was a big blow for us and for him. He tried to do everything to be with the team and worked hard, then first game back he makes a sprint and now he's out for a while. It's very hard for a player at any point of season especially now."