Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has held clear-the-air talks with England boss Gareth Southgate after it emerged midfielder Adam Lallana will miss Saturday’s Merseyside derby after sustaining a thigh injury while on international duty with England.

It is feared that Lallana could be out for up to a month after sustaining a kick in the World Cup qualifier, but he still finished the game at Wembley after playing most of the friendly with Germany in Dortmund last week.

And Southgate, aware that this was the second time Lallana had returned to Melwood injured after Three Lions duty, rang Klopp to maintain their good relationship, The Independent understands.

Liverpool have refused to put an official timescale on Lallana’s recovery, although it appears likely he will miss vital Premier League matches against Bournemouth, Stoke and West Brom, as well as Saturday’s eagerly-awaited derby match with Everton at Anfield.

Lallana completed 90 minutes for England but will now miss a month (Getty Images)

To make matters worse for manager Jurgen Klopp, Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson, who has not played since February 11 because of a foot injury, was also absent from training on Tuesday. He is also facing a race against time to be fit for the match.

The news will come as a bitter blow to Liverpool manager Jürgen Klopp, given Lallana's superb performances in recent weeks.

"He is a very important player for us," Klopp said of Lallana after rewarding the player with a new £110k-a-week contract last month.

"I heard when I came in what a lot of people said about him before I came in but I actually only knew him from Southampton.

"Since I've been here he has been a really important player for all our development steps which we made - not only for him personally.