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The Liverpool injury curse has struck again, it seems.

Defeat to Watford on Sunday was bad enough – and boy was it bad – but the sight of another Reds player limping from the field made a grim day even worse for Jurgen Klopp .

Martin Skrtel was the victim on this occasion. The Slovakian underwent a scan on his damaged hamstring at Melwood on Tuesday morning, with fears that he will be forced to miss at least the next couple of weeks.

That, of course, would rule him out of the entire festive period – league games with Leicester, Sunderland and West Ham as well as, potentially, the League Cup semi-final first leg with Stoke and the FA Cup third round tie at Exeter.

It’s a headache Klopp could well do without as he looks to find a way to extract consistent results from an inconsistent group of players.

For some, though, the loss of Skrtel may be seen as, if not a blessing in disguise, then something similar.

Step forward Mamadou Sakho and Dejan Lovren .

Should Skrtel be first pick?

Skrtel, generally, has been THE constant in Liverpool’s defence in recent years.

Since arriving in 2008, he’s made 315 appearances for the Reds – more, for example, than John Toshack or Dietmar Hamann, than Jan Molby or Steve McMahon. He’s 55th on the all-time list.

And yet still he fails to convince.

He may have been forced off before half-time at Vicarage Road on Sunday, but he’d already played his part in Liverpool’s defeat. Weak, hesitant defending against Odion Ighalo led to Watford’s killer second goal, while he and Sakho looked utterly flustered by the presence of Ighalo and Troy Deeney throughout.

Deeney, speaking to talkSPORT after the game, told of how Liverpool had been “bullied” by Watford’s physicality. Skrtel, he said, “didn’t fancy it”. A bit harsh perhaps, but there are plenty who will agree with the Hornets skipper’s assessment.

Problems against powerful, aggressive frontmen are not uncommon for Skrtel. Brendan Rodgers dropped him after a chastening afternoon against Matt Smith of Oldham Athletic in 2013, while Christian Benteke, Romelu Lukaku, Rickie Lambert and Didier Drogba have all, at various points, given him nightmares.

Not good at all for a centre-back in a team which lacks power and leadership generally. It was telling that, when talk turned to who would take over as captain and vice-skipper following Steven Gerrard’s departure, Skrtel’s name was never seriously considered.

An article published on The Anfield Wrap site recently spoke of how one former rival had, off the record, told the author how he enjoyed playing against Skrtel.

“He doesn’t speak much,” was one observation, while his marking at set-pieces was also questioned. The opponent in question was another who regularly enjoyed productive days against the Reds.

There are many Reds who believe that if Liverpool are looking for reasons why their defence has been porous in recent years, they should look at the one man who has been there all along.

Logical, in all honesty, although Skrtel’s champions would argue that an ever-changing cast of central defensive partners, full-backs, goalkeepers and managers has hardly helped. Few players, in truth, have consistently delivered at Anfield. He’s just one of them.

Time for change?

Time, then, for Klopp and Liverpool to look elsewhere?

They’re already eyeing up one defensive signing, with Schalke’s Joel Matip a target for next summer. And if Skrtel is to be sidelined for a few weeks during a particularly busy period, then it will give a chance to those already in the squad to stake their claims.

Sakho and Lovren, for one reason or another, have started together just five times since the start of last season. Injuries to both have played their part, but generally it has been one or the other.

Maybe it is because both are more comfortable on the left of the middle – though Lovren is naturally right-footed. But when those two have played together, the results have been decent.

Four wins – against Tottenham, Ludogorets and Blackburn last season, and Rubin Kazan this – only two goals conceded and three clean sheets. It’s not an exact science, but the stats suggest that this is a partnership which is worth another look.

Lovren’s knee injury may delay that – though Klopp believes the Croatian could be available for Leicester on Boxing Day – and with Liverpool’s problems spreading far beyond the centre of defence there is no guarantee that a switch in personnel there would solve them.

But there is a strong case – injury or otherwise – for the Reds to have a look at a Skrtel-less defence.

Christmas headache? Or New Year, new start?