Frimpong faces six-game absence as Liverpool's right-back crisis deepens after Brentford

Jeremie Frimpong is likely to be sidelined until the November international break after sustaining a hamstring injury as a substitute at Brentford on Saturday, Liverpool manager Andoni Iraola confirmed, describing the setback as a “massive” blow to a squad already short of options at right-back.

The Netherlands international went off within minutes of coming on, compounding a positional crisis that has left Liverpool without a natural right-back. Conor Bradley is also not expected to return until after the November internationals, meaning on-loan Barcelona defender Ronald Araujo will continue to fill in on the right side of defence.

Iraola offered a more cautious update on Dominik Szoboszlai, who also went off during the Brentford match after just 30 minutes of his comeback from injury. The Liverpool vice-captain has not suffered a significant worsening of his existing problem, but is expected to miss around a week of action — ruling him out of Tuesday’s fixture against Villarreal and Sunday’s Premier League clash with Brighton.

“Jeremie Frimpong has a new, massive injury that happened, I think, in the second or third minute he was playing and it was difficult to predict,” Iraola said. “We will have to wait until he recovers but I think it is going to be difficult before the international break.”

On Szoboszlai, the manager added: “It is not a new injury. He is in the same place he was probably the past week. It hasn’t worsened the injury but we probably have to be a little bit more patient until he recovers fully.”

Araujo, who operated predominantly as a central defender during his time at Barcelona, acknowledged he was aware of the possibility of playing at right-back when he agreed to join Liverpool on loan. “It is not a problem,” the Uruguay international said. “When I made the decision to come here, I knew it was one of the possibilities. I try to give everything the manager asks.”

Liverpool hold an option to sign Araujo permanently next summer, though the 25-year-old has yet to indicate whether he would prefer to remain at Anfield or return to Barcelona. “I am just trying to enjoy every day,” he said. “It is a bit early to be talking about those things.”