Rodgers on Toure injury latest
Brendan Rodgers has delivered a positive assessment of the groin injury Kolo Toure sustained during Liverpool's 4-2 victory over Notts County in the Capital One Cup on Tuesday night.
The Ivorian defender was stretchered from the field with the game level at 2-2 - and afterwards, Rodgers admitted he feared the worst.
However, addressing reporters gathered at Melwood today, the boss insisted Toure's injury is not as bad as first thought.
The defender will now be assessed over the coming days to establish if he can feature in Sunday's clash against Manchester United.
"His injury is nowhere near as bad as what we thought," said the manager. "We'll just assess that over the next 24/48 hours.
"I think we were all thinking that he might be out for longer after the game, but he's made an excellent recovery. The diagnosis isn't anywhere near as bad as we thought, so we'll see how he is for this weekend.
"If it's not this weekend, then we would think that after the international break he will not be too far away."
The boss was also quizzed about the fitness of midfielder Joe Allen after he too was forced to leave the field in the cup encounter due to a hamstring problem.
"With Joe, likewise, it was only a grade one strain, so he maybe doubtful for the weekend," said Rodgers. "But certainly after the international break he'll be fine."
Liverpool's new signing Aly Cissokho was substituted after just nine minutes of his home debut after picking up a knock on his ankle.
Rodgers said: "Cissokho will be slightly different [to Toure and Allen]. He could be out for four to six weeks, which is a blow because he came in and trained really well last week.
"He's on crutches at the moment and we'll just look at that over the coming weeks. But he certainly won't be available [for the Manchester United game]."