Liverpool Defender Ruled Out for 6 Months After Cruciate Ligament Damage

​Liverpool defender Nathaniel Clyne has been ruled out for six months after sustaining a serious cruciate ligament injury in the United States.

The full back has been away with Jurgen Klopp's men for pre-season, having completed his six-month loan stint at Bournemouth, although is not in the German's first team plans for the coming season.

As a result, Clyne had been of interest to a number of ​Premier League sides, with a summer exit from ​Liverpool looking increasingly likely. This was until, however, the ​club revealed on their ​official website the 28-year-old had suffered a cruciate ligament that will keep him out of action for six months.

​West Ham were registered with an interest in Clyne, along with ​Crystal Palace and the ​Cherries, although news of the injury makes it all but certain that the defender will spend another season at Anfield. 

Klopp said of the full back's injury: “What can I say other than how gutted we all are for Clyney. He was training and playing so well - he was in outstanding shape.

“Clearly an injury of this nature isn’t a happy moment for any player, but the silver lining for him is that, according to the medical guys, it’s a straightforward ACL injury. This means fixing it and coming back from it should follow a path that is free from pitfalls and complications.

“At the moment there isn’t much more to say beyond we’ll all support Clyney in whatever way we can and we look forward to seeing him back on the pitch as soon as responsibly possible. He is such a sound professional and is naturally very fit and strong, so all these things are in his favour.”

Since making the move to Merseyside from the Saints on a five-year-deal worth £12.5m in 2015, Clyne has gone on to make 103 appearances for the club, scoring twice in the process. He had fallen out of favour in he previous two seasons, however, making just seven Premier League appearances across those campaigns.