Thomas Partey has suffered a reoccurrence of his thigh injury with Arsenal facing a nervous wait to understand the extent of the setback.
The Ghana international, who has not featured since the 1-0 win over Manchester City in October, was in contention to return for Sunday’s home game with Liverpool but is now facing another spell on the sidelines.
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Gunners boss Mikel Arteta said: “With Thomas unfortunately we had a little setback a few days ago. He’s not going to be available in the squad for Liverpool.
“We don’t know if it’s a few days or weeks. He felt something in a very similar area and he wasn’t able to train the last few days.”
Partey’s physicality in a defensive midfield role brings “something very different”, according to Arteta, and his continued absence is a worry for Arsenal.
“It is a big concern because he was such an important player for us,” added Arteta.
“He was getting some momentum at the start of the season and then we lost him for a while. Now we have been a long time without him.
“He gives you something very different and the only one who can give you this in the squad. He’s been a real miss.”
Arsenal go into the weekend in third place in the Premier League, five points behind Sunday’s table-topping opponents.
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Back-to-back wins have helped them get back on track after a sticky spell around the new year but Arteta knows his side will have to be at their brilliant best when they come up against Jurgen Klopp’s men.
“We had the opportunity to refresh and reconnect again when we went to Dubai,” he said. “We had a long period then between the Forest and Palace games.
“My feeling is that we continue to play really well and need to be much more efficient in the final third and that’s helpful for the forthcoming matches.
“This season we have beaten big teams already and this is another good opportunity to beat Liverpool and be in a better place. We talk about momentum and we won the last two games and we want to win the third one, especially at home with our people.
“It’s going to be an incredible atmosphere and we need that. So I encourage everyone to play with us every single ball.”
