The Ivorian was stretchered off during the Merseyside club's 4-2 League Cup victory over Notts County on Tuesday, with hosts playing large periods of extra time with 10 men having used all their substitutes.

It was subsequently revealed that Toure had suffered a tear to his groin but Rodgers believes the 32-year-old could even feature on Sunday, when Liverpool host Manchester United in the Premier League.

"His injury is nowhere near as bad as what we thought," he said. "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."

Midfielder Joe Allen and new signing Aly Cissokho both also suffered injuries during that game, and Rodgers explained that the pair are likely to miss the clash with United.

"With Joe, likewise, it was only a grade one strain, so he maybe doubtful for the weekend," he added. "But certainly after the international break he'll be fine.

"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)."