LIVERPOOL manager Jurgen Klopp feels some teenagers "have to start" against Saints due to the number of his injured senior players.

Midfielder Ryan Gravenberch was the latest to be ruled out – for at least two matches – after he was carried off on a stretcher in Sunday’s EFL Cup final victory over Chelsea.

Wataru Endo is also a doubt for Wednesday’s FA Cup visit of Saints after he left Wembley on crutches and wearing a protective boot, which would take the number of first-teamers unavailable to 13.

Klopp admitted veteran midfielder Thiago Alcantara – who has made one five-minute substitute appearance since April – may not play again for the club as his contract expires in the summer.

Stars Mohamed Salah, Darwin Nunez and Dominik Szoboszlai are closest to returning, but they may not be risked in the cup.

“We need miracles with a few players,” Klopp said. “I don’t want to rule them out for too long.

“But it is touch and go with a lot of players who were not available for the final: Darwin, Mo, Dom – we have to see what they can do. 

“In an ideal world, you’d think about these kind of things but we don’t live in an ideal world so we will see when the players arrive and they get checked.

“When the players arrive and I can look in their eyes and see who might be ready then I will make the line-up.”

Klopp is likely to have to rely on a number of the younger players who made such an impression at Wembley, with 19 year olds Bobby Clark and James McConnell likely to start against Saints.

Although the pair have made just one start apiece in cup competitions this season, Klopp has total faith in their ability to step up in the team’s hour of need – although he urged fans to make allowances for them.

“First and foremost, they don’t have to show anything. Our boys played in youth teams and under-21s and only came up recently and trained with us: absolutely nil experience but a lot of talent and they showed that,” he added.

“If you play more of them (against Saints) from the start and we have a look and think, ‘Hmm, they are not as good as I thought on Sunday’, that would be horrendous so there is absolutely no pressure.

“All that these boys have to do is to really enjoy what they are doing. They have to defend like men, otherwise they cannot play.

“I saw them doing that on Sunday and it obviously helped and it gave confidence and there are so many things you cannot buy.

"Usually, you need years to get these kind of experiences that they got in a flash. It’s possible and a few of them have to start, that is clear.

"If they do they will do the job and we all have to help them with celebrating the right things and not moaning about the wrong things.”