"Trent hyperextended his knee, so he has a little tear in the lateral ligament of his knee," said Lijnders.

"He had a scan. He will be out for probably three weeks. It's a big blow. We will really miss him."

Lijnders added: "We will have to find new dynamics without him because he made our game flexible. Even in bad spells, he was the one putting the balls where we needed the difference.

"He will get some rest and then hopefully he can come back to where he was. Because this guy was decisive in all the games and was the one who created constantly for us from deep."

Liverpool are three points clear at the top of the Premier League and host Fulham in the Carabao Cup semi-final first leg on Wednesday.

They face Bournemouth in the Premier League on 21 January and play the second leg against Fulham on 24 January.

They meet Norwich or Bristol Rovers in the FA Cup fourth round on the weekend of 27 January before hosting Chelsea in the league on 31 January.

Alexander-Arnold, appointed club vice-captain last summer, has scored two goals in 25 games in all competitions for Liverpool this season.

Primarily a right-back, he has enjoyed success in midfield at times this season.

Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah is on international duty with Egypt at the Africa Cup of Nations, while midfielder Wataru Endo is with Japan at the Asia Cup.

Lijnders said left-backs Andy Robertson and Kostas Tsimikas should return to training at the end of the month as they continue their recovery from shoulder injuries.

Midfielder Dominik Szoboszlai is out with a hamstring problem, but captain Virgil van Dijk is fit to face Fulham after recovering from illness.