You'll have plenty to celebrate when you subscribe to the Liverpool FC newsletter Sign me up Thank you for subscribing We have more newsletters Show me See our privacy notice Invalid Email

Steven Caulker is unlikely to play for Liverpool again ahead of his return to Queens Park Rangers this summer.

The England centre-back has made just four appearances for the Reds since he was signed on loan back in January.

Caulker was once again overlooked for Sunday’s Premier League defeat at Swansea – despite manager Jurgen Klopp opting to rest a host of first-team stars ahead of Thursday night’s crunch Europa League semi-final second leg with Villarreal at Anfield.

The 24-year-old hasn’t been named in any of Liverpool’s 18-man matchday squads since mid-February with supporters questioning the continued absence of the 6ft 3ins defender.

The ECHO understands that Caulker is fit and has been available for selection. However, he has struggled to force his way into Klopp’s plans and is simply a long way down the pecking order.

Caulker was only ever viewed as a stopgap at a time when Liverpool were wrestling with a defensive injury crisis.

The Reds made their move for him after all four senior centre-backs – Martin Skrtel, Dejan Lovren, Mamadou Sakho and Kolo Toure – missed January’s FA Cup tie at Exeter City.

Caulker was out of favour on loan at Southampton at the time and they were happy to cut short his stay when Liverpool expressed an interest.

Championship outfit QPR then sanctioned his switch to Anfield for the rest of the campaign with Klopp describing him as the “best solution”.

He made his Reds debut as a makeshift striker when he came off the bench late on in the 3-3 draw with Arsenal.

Caulker also came on against Manchester United and Norwich City but his three league appearances for Liverpool total less than 10 minutes.

His solitary start was in the FA Cup fourth round stalemate with West Ham at Anfield on January 30. He hasn’t played for the club since having been an unused substitute against both Aston Villa and Augsburg.

Caulker will hope to kick-start his career elsewhere this summer. The former Tottenham defender still has two years to run on his contract with QPR.