Jordan Henderson and Marko Grujic are closing in on returns to action, Jürgen Klopp has confirmed – but the captain is set to miss Liverpool's next two fixtures.

The skipper picked up a heel injury during the 1-0 win over Manchester City on New Year’s Eve, which ruled him out of the Reds’ clash with Sunderland two days later.

Henderson will now sit out this Sunday’s FA Cup third-round tie with Plymouth Argyle at Anfield, and it’s likely the EFL Cup semi-final, first-leg encounter with Southampton next Wednesday will also come too early for the 26-year-old.

Klopp said: “Actually, it is good news if you want – we had this issue with the heel and we had to take him out for a while, but he is already on the way back.

“He has no chance for the weekend and I am sure [there’ll be] no risk for Southampton, but then I think it is absolutely possible that he’s back.”

Meanwhile, Grujic is also on the comeback trail following a tendon issue.

The midfielder was last involved in the first-team squad when he was named as a substitute in the EFL Cup encounter with Leeds United on November 29, but is expected to resume training imminently.

“Yes [he is still injured], but he is on a good way too,” said Klopp. “Maybe the end of this week or the start of next week he will be back in team training.

“It was difficult and we had to do not too much because it was how it is with muscles, they all heal differently.

“In this case, he obviously took a little bit longer. He is not injured anymore, but he is not match fit.”