Italian forward Fabio Borini has added to Liverpool's striking worries after suffering a potentially serious injury whilst on international duty...
21-year-old Reds attacker Fabio Borini looks set for a period on the sidelines with a broken bone in his foot.
The summer capture from Roma suffered the injury on Thursday whilst training with the Italian Under-21 squad ahead of their fixture with Sweden this evening.
The news will be a big blow to Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers who shelled out 11m to be reunited with a player he coached previously at both Chelsea and Swansea City.
Despite failing to register a Premier League goal to date, Borini had shown glimpses of his potential with his movement and work-rate impressing many observers.
Options up front are already limited for the Merseysiders with 35m man Andy Carroll out on loan at West Ham United and other options such as Dirk Kuyt and Craig Bellamy sold during the summer.
That means, other than Uruguayan hitman Luis Suarez, Rodgers is left with only inexperienced youth team players to fill the void. The likes of Samed Yesil, 18, Adam Morgan, 18, and Jerome Sinclair, 16, have all seen some game time already this season and could now be set for more.
The length of Borini's absence is not yet fully known as the results of a scan are awaited but if, as feared, it is a broken metatarsal then the general recovery period runs into months not weeks.
Another player who will hope to benefit from the Italian's absence is Spaniard Daniel Pacheco. The 21-year-old, who featured heavily during pre-season and has also made two cup appearances so far this term, will be hoping for further opportunities after coming close to leaving Anfield during the summer.
"I am trying to work very hard to get into the team. I've played a few games and I think I did quite well, so hopefully by working every day and playing in games with the U21s, I can get back into the team and play a few more games," explained the former Barcelona youngster to Liverpoolfc.com.
"I hope this is a new opportunity for me. I want to try my best. We have already seen he [Rodgers] is giving a chance to the youngsters, so hopefully I will get one in the next few games.
"I think every season is a crucial season for everyone, but maybe because I haven't played that many games in the last seasons, maybe this is the one I can break into the first team - and I'll try my best to try and make that happen."
Pacheco, who has had loan spells at Norwich City and Rayo Vallecano in previous seasons, added: "In the summer, I was supposed to go on loan to Spain but it didn't happen.
"I went to talk to him [Rodgers] and he was very honest with me. He said he would treat me as a professional and an adult. He has given me the chance to try and impress him - so now it is my job to try to do my best.
"His style is definitely a style that suits me. It's the way we like to play in Spain and I've been playing all of my life. We have shown already we are playing good football and I am sure the results will come."
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