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Liverpool defender Nathaniel Clyne is set to be out for six months after suffering a cruciate ligament injury.

Clyne, 28, suffered the injury in the pre-season friendly defeat to Borussia Dortmund.

He underwent a scan to determine the extent of the problem with the news killing any hopes of a return to Crystal Palace this summer.

Clyne spent the second half of last season on loan at Bournemouth and had been tipped to return to Selhurst Park as a replacement for Aaron Wan-Bissaka.

Liverpool have flown to New York for the final leg of their pre-season tour in the US where they will face Sporting Lisbon.

But Clyne jetted back to Merseyside from Boston on Sunday night having sat out their defeat by Sevilla at Fenway Park, the home of the Boston Red Sox.

(Image: James Maloney/Liverpool Echo)

It is expected the England full-back will be out for between six to nine months.

The club’s medical staff are hopeful it will be closer to six months for the England right-back. He is expected to play again this season.

That is because the results have shown it to be a clean injury with no other damage and the recovery should be routine.

Clyne has one year left on his current contract at Liverpool . It is now expected he will leave the club when that deal expires.

(Image: AFC Bournemouth via Getty Images)

A move to January is also expected to be too early for the player who spent the second half of last season at Bournemouth.

Clyne began his career at Crystal Palace before joining Southampton in 2012.

Liverpool snapped him up for £12.5m in 2015 and he has made 102 appearances for the Reds.

But he had fallen behind Trent Alexander-Arnold in the pecking order at right-back which is why Klopp was happy for him to join Bournemouth on loan last season.