Roy Hodgson fears lengthy Liverpool lay-off for Dirk Kuyt

Liverpool manager Roy Hodgson fears Dirk Kuyt’s shoulder injury may keep him out of action for longer than the four-weeks that were first anticipated.

The 30-year-old Dutch forward picked up the strain during a training session with the Netherlands earlier this week and was ruled out for up to four weeks by Liverpool’s medical staff.

Kuyt had originally hoped to return in time for Liverpool’s Europa League clash against FC Utrecht on 30 September, though the Dutchman did stress it was crucial the injury healed well in the first few days.

“I hope I will make it [for Utrecht],” he told the Liverpool’s official website. “It all depends on how the injury heals in the first few days,”

But Hodgson has admitted Kuyt’s return to first team action could be much further away, stating the type of injury the Dutch international has sustained makes it hard to predict the length of the recovery period.

“It could be more than four weeks,” Hodgson said. “It’s one of those injuries where it’s very difficult for the doctor to say and I think four weeks is a very conservative estimate.

“If we’re lucky it could be earlier, but it could be longer. We have to be very careful because it’s the type of injury that has to be treated with a lot of respect.

“It’s a great blow for us because Dirk is an important member of our first team. He does a job which is not easy to replace because he has all the qualities required for that role on the field.

“I was very sad to see such a thing happen, especially in a training session. It would have been bad enough to happen playing for the national team in a competitive match, but for it to happen in training was even more of a blow.

“He’s a quick mender and he has a great mentality and attitude towards recovery, so he will be back as quick as is humanly possible. But we’re looking at least a month and possibly longer.”