Liverpool has received encouraging news regarding Cody Gakpo’s knee injury sustained during Saturday’s 2-1 defeat to Tottenham.

The 24-year-old was substituted at half-time shortly after scoring Liverpool’s equalizer, causing concern for Jurgen Klopp, who initially feared it could be a serious injury.

However, reports from the Netherlands on Tuesday morning provide a more optimistic outlook, indicating that Gakpo’s injury doesn’t involve any fractures. Initially reported to be sidelined for up to six weeks, the recovery timeline has now been adjusted to at least after the upcoming international break.

This latest report raises hopes that Gakpo might be able to make a comeback for Liverpool in the Merseyside derby against Everton on October 21, which is the first fixture following the international break. While this return date may still be ambitious, the overall outlook is more positive compared to the previous 24-48 hours.

Gakpo’s injury came at an unfortunate time, as he had been in excellent form, scoring in three of his last four appearances for Liverpool since mid-September. Combined with Diogo Jota’s suspension, Jurgen Klopp now faces a shortage of attacking options for Sunday’s Premier League clash against Brighton, relying on the expected starting trio of Mo Salah, Darwin Nunez, and Luis Diaz, assuming none of them suffer injuries before the weekend.

If Gakpo can return after missing only Liverpool’s next two matches (plus Netherlands’ games later this month) for the Merseyside derby, it would be a scenario that Liverpool fans would welcome at this point.