Jurgen Klopp allayed concerns over Thiago Alcantara's hip injury after Liverpool beat Shrewsbury Town 4-1 in the fourth round of the FA Cup on Sunday.
Thiago has missed the last three matches, raising fears the midfielder could be set for a lengthy spell on the sidelines.
Reds manager Klopp does not expect the Spain international to be out of action for too long, though.
Asked if Thiago could be out for the rest of the season, Klopp said: "No, neither March nor [the] end of the season is in my mind.
"It is something around the hip, that is the situation and it needs time now. He didn't train this week but we expect him to be back to do rehab stuff from tomorrow on and then we will see.
"No, it is not that he is out until the end of the season, not at all."
Klopp praised Kaide Gordon and was impressed with the way his Liverpool side fought back to set to an FA Cup fourth round time at home to Cardiff City.
Daniel Udoh gave the Shrews a shock lead, but their joy was short-lived on Merseyside.
Gordon became the second-youngest goalscorer in the Reds' history at the age of 17 years and 96 days, equalising with a clinical finish after taking a good touch to control the ball inside the penalty area.
Fabinho put Liverpool in front with a penalty just before half-time and struck again with the final kick of the game after Roberto Firmino came off the bench to find the back of the net with a cheeky backheel.
Klopp, back on the touchline following an absence due to his positive COVID-19 test, was not surprised to see former Derby County teenager Gordon make his mark.
He told BBC Sport: "He's a real talent and his main strength is his finishing."
With Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane and Naby Keita away at the Africa Cup of Nations, Liverpool were further depleted by the loss of Trent Alexander-Arnold to COVID-19 for the tie.
Elijah Dixon-Bonner and Max Woltman made their first senior starts as Klopp went with a mixture of youth and experience.
The German said: "We've trained since Friday pretty much and that is what we decided with this line-up. The boys really fought hard.
"When you get the first goal against you so many things can happen, but I liked the way we responded.
"We started with five really young boys. They are really good players. We played so many safety passes in the first half. We knew we could play better football in the second half."
Motta salutes 'solid and concrete' Juventus after derby victory over Torino
Thiago Motta hailed Juventus' "solid and concrete" display on their way to victory over Torino in Derby della Mole.
The Bianconeri claimed bragging rights in the Turin derby, with goals from Timothy Weah and Kenan Yildiz sealing all three points.
Juve climbed to third place - a point behind leaders Napoli - after extending their unbeaten start in Serie A, while earning a ninth clean sheet - the most of any side in Europe's top five leagues.
And Motta paid tribute to his players for their performance levels at the end of a busy seven days.
"It's always important to play with balance, and today, we put in an excellent performance, bringing home three precious points," he said.
"I am happy both for the result and for the level of play expressed in front of our fans, who supported us a lot. We have to thank them, as well as the boys, because it was not easy.
"It was the third game of the week, we were able to manage our energy well, and we were solid and concrete for the whole 95 minutes. A well-deserved victory."
Weah became only the second American to score for Juventus against Torino after Weston McKennie in 2020.
Next up for the Bianconeri after the international break is a showdown with AC Milan at San Siro, where Weah's father George played a starring role during the 1990s.
"Today I'm happy," he said. "We have to continue like this, because when we play like tonight, we're strong.
"Now, the match against Milan awaits us. It's important, also for me and for the history of my family."
Slot believes Liverpool have 'many challenges to come' in Premier League title race
Arne Slot envisages "many challenges to come" in Liverpool's Premier League title race, despite his side moving five points clear at the top of the table with victory on Saturday.
The Reds capitalised on Manchester City's slip at Brighton by taking all three points in a 2-0 win over Aston Villa to establish breathing space at the summit.
Darwin Nunez gave the hosts the lead at Anfield as he capitalised after a quick counter, before Mohamed Salah did the same six minutes from time to secure all three points.
While Slot was pleased by the outcome, he is aware the cushion at the top does not guarantee a smooth run in their title challenge.
"It wasn't easy, like most of our games have been now," he told TNT Sport. "Aston Villa were maybe not as aggressive as we thought they would be.
"We were patient. One thing they are very good at is set-pieces. In general, we had control over the game and scored from two counter-attacks, which is maybe not what we would expect.
"If I look at the games that are ahead, they are tough. It will be a tough season in general. Margins are small, we have a margin, but it is small. [There are] many challenges to come for us."
Slot has got off to a fine start since succeeding Jurgen Klopp as manager at the start of the season, as he became just the fourth manager to win as many as nine of his first 11 Premier League games in charge, after John Gregory, Guus Hiddink, and Carlo Ancelotti.
Liverpool now have 28 points in the league. They have only previously equalled this total once after 11 games, in their title-winning season of 2019-20 (31).
Equally, no manager has ever won more points from their first 11 games in the competition than Slot. The Dutchman is not concerned by totals or margins, however, with his focus remaining on the philosophy he wants to instil at Anfield.
"As a manager, if you come into a new club, you don't think about how many points after how many games," he told BBC Match of the Day. "You think about changing the style or keeping it as it was.
"To change the style, you have to do a lot of things on the training ground and in meetings. The only thing I have thought about is how to implement the playing style, and how to make sure the players keep working as hard as they can."
FC Cincinnati 0-0 New York City FC (5-6 on pens): Ilenic sets up Hudson River derby
New York City FC will face the New York Red Bulls for a place in the Eastern Conference final after a 6-5 penalty shootout victory over FC Cincinnati.
In a shootout during which five spot-kicks were missed, Mitja Ilenic kept his cool to slam home and get NYCFC over the line after a 0-0 draw in Ohio.
Cincinnati, last season's Supporters' Shield winners, had the better of the chances at TQL Stadium, though NYCFC did have a goal disallowed midway through the second half, with Alonso Martínez having been flagged offside.
But Nick Cushing, who this week insisted he wanted to stay at NYCFC amid reported interest from Arsenal Women, saw his team get the job done in dramatic fashion.
NYCFC goalkeeper Matt Freese, who made a crucial save to deny Luca Orellano on the half-hour mark, looked set to be the hero until his counterpart Roman Celentano thwarted Thiago Martins.
Freese's save from Gerardo Valenzuela then sparked a remarkable streak of five straight missed penalties, with Kevin O'Toole denied by Celentano, Chidozie Awaziem and Andres Perea blazing over, and Teenage Hadebe kept out by NYCFC's shot-stopper, before Ilenic finally showed how it was done.
NYCFC will now go up against their city rivals next week, while Cincinnati must lick their wounds heading into the offseason.
Data Debrief: Away form a concern for Cushing
While New York can celebrate making the Conference semi-finals, they have now won only one of their last 15 away games in all competitions.
Indeed, NYCFC have won just five of their last 41 road matches in all competitions since the start of the 2023 season.
Their meagre 0.28 expected goals (xG), compared to Cincinnati's 1.13, across the 90 minutes showed they were largely outplayed, and Cushing will be glad next week's semi-final will take place on home turf - with NYCFC the sixth seed, whereas the Red Bulls are the seventh.
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
