If Liverpool were expecting their wage bill to decrease following the departures of several high earners last summer, they might find those savings have since been reinvested on overtime shifts for the medical department.

When it was put to Jurgen Klopp earlier this month that he travelled to Arsenal with something of a "luxury problem" of having virtually a full complement of players to choose from for the first time this season, the Reds manager bristled.

To Klopp, being able to select from a full squad of fit players was not necessarily a prospect to be savoured or indulged and it was a question that clearly stuck with him as a week later he said he would kick anyone out of his pre-match press conference if such a notion was to be put to him once more.

"Somebody asked me about the 'luxury problem' of having so many players available," Klopp said. "If anyone asks me that again, I [will] kick them out of the room!"

The defeat that followed at Arsenal left him without Thiago Alcantara once more and unable to select Ibrahima Konate against Burnley through suspension after his red card. Those issues compounded the fact that Dominik Szoboszlai was ruled out for the 3-1 loss itself and the Hungary captain remains on the shelf, apparently champing at the bit to be involved but without the medical clearance needed to do so.

"I said if you ask Dom he plays against Brentford," Klopp said before Burnley. "That is the problem with the injury. It is a muscle injury with a slight tendon involvement. The muscle is not big but the tendon is the problem and the tendon is not painful which means the player is like: 'I'm fine, let's go.' And he is obviously not used to getting injured with this kind of thing."

It will need to be a big week on the injury front for Szoboszlai if he is to make it through to Sunday's Carabao Cup final against Chelsea. The Reds manager, typically, prefers his players to come through at least two team training sessions before they are considered for a recall but given the extent of the absentee list presently, it will be interesting to see if Klopp relaxes those rules ahead of the Wembley showpiece.

After the flu bug caused Alisson to miss the visit of Burnley last week - an affliction that also took Joe Gomez out of the running - the Brazil goalkeeper was dealt even worse news when it was made clear he had suffered a twanging of his hamstring on the eve of the visit to Brentford.

Caoimhin Kelleher has deputised largely with aplomb when called upon but the fact the Irishman has already featured 14 times this season highlights Alisson's struggles, even if it was no surprise to see him standing in for League Cup or Europa League duty. Wednesday night's visit from Luton Town will be his fifth Premier League appearance of the campaign in a season where he has already played the most top-flight minutes of his senior career.

The Republic of Ireland international will also be called upon to keep watch at Wembley on Sunday as he looks to pick up his second League Cup winners' medal as a Liverpool goalkeeper. Like so many in the ranks, this is a vital week for Kelleher as the unrivalled Alisson continues to convalesce.

Trent Alexander-Arnold is another who will be watching on with his feet up on Sunday after being unable to shake up a knee complaint that blighted him since the first week of January. The vice-captain has battled on through, featuring against Norwich, Arsenal and Burnley after the best part of a month out before finally succumbing to a recurrence of the initial issue, picked up in the 2-0 FA Cup win at the Emirates on January 7.

With Alisson, Alexander-Arnold, Thiago and Szoboszlai joined by Diogo Jota, Joel Matip, whose season ended in December, and potentially Curtis Jones, Liverpool will head to Wembley without as many as seven players who many would select in their first XI.

Throw in the fact Darwin Nunez was withdrawn at the weekend as a precaution and some worrying Egypt-based claims around Mohamed Salah, who made his first appearance for the Reds since New Year's Day on Saturday, and the potential for an injury-based meltdown from a reeling fanbase is very real.

The initial prognosis for Jota provides hope the Portugal international will be able to return to the side before the end of the campaign but the club are awaiting the results of further assessments after he was withdrawn with a knee injury when Christian Norgaard landed awkwardly on him during Saturday's 4-1 win at Brentford.

The Portugal international is determined to ensure the injury does not scupper hopes of playing for his country at this summer's European Championships after he was forced to miss the World Cup in 2022 due to a serious calf injury picked up for the Reds in the 1-0 win over Manchester City in October of that year.

The absence of the in-form Jota is a bitter pill to swallow for Klopp but the fact that it looks like he can at least play some part in the run-in is a bonus given he left the pitch on a stretcher and then the stadium on crutches at the weekend. The former Wolves forward has 10 goal contributions since his return from a hamstring complaint at Burnley on Boxing Day and the absence will be keenly felt by Klopp, whose five-man sharpshooters up top have helped maintain their place as Premier League leaders in recent weeks.

Liverpool have fought on admirably without so many key operators at various times across the season but the more engulfed they are by these injury troubles, the more their hopes of glory ebb away. Those who are cleared for action will have to dig deep this week as the Wembley arches appear on the horizon.

The Wednesday night visit from Rob Edwards's relegation-threatened Luton complicates things further but the addition of the midweek fixture is something Liverpool will have to deal with going forward as the Europa League swings back into the action next month after Southampton arrive on Merseyside for an FA Cup tie on February 28.

The fixture list, like the injuries, are beginning to stack up for Liverpool and supporters will be hanging on to every word from the manager when he delivers the latest update in his Tuesday afternoon press conference.

Before then, though, more overtime shifts beckon for the medical department.