Fabio Borini has broken a bone in his foot while on international duty with Italy's Under-21 team, exacerbating Liverpool's striker crisis.
It is not yet known how long the 21-year-old will be sidelined for, however it leaves Reds manager Brendan Rodgers with Luis Suárez as his only recognised striker.
Borini had been training with the Italian squad for their fixture against Sweden when he sustained the injury on Thursday.
Signed for a fee of £10.5m from Roma in the summer, Borini previously played under Rodgers on loan at Swansea City last season. Despite scoring on his home debut for Liverpool against Gomel, it remains his sole strike in 10 games.
Borini celebrates a Liverpool goal against Young Boys
His absence compounds Rodgers' misery after he failed to buy a striker in the January transfer window. Andy Carroll was loaned to West Ham United seemingly on the understanding a new striker would be signed but Liverpool failed to bolster their attack, with target Clint Dempsey joining Tottenham Hotspur on deadline day.
The Reds approached Juventus legend and free agent Alessandro del Piero after the deadline expired, but he rejected the opportunity to speak with the club out of respect to the devastation his former club suffered from the 1985 Heysel disaster.