Injury rules Liverpool player Bajcetic out for the season

MANCHESTER (AP): Stefan Bajcetic will miss the rest of the season because of injury, the Liverpool midfielder said Thursday.

Bajcetic missed his team’s 1-0 loss to Real Madrid in the Champions League on Wednesday because of what was described as a “stress response” around his adductor.

The 18-year-old Spanish youth international broke into Liverpool’s first team in August and has been a rare positive in a season of struggle for the Merseyside club.

“Unfortunately I’ve picked up an injury that will keep me out until the end of the season,” Bajcetic wrote on Instagram. “It’s very sad to say goodbye to this amazing season for me but I understand this is part of football and will only make me stronger physically and mentally.

“I would also like to say thank you to you reds for all the support through the season and I assure you I will do my best to be back stronger than ever.”

Bajcetic’s absence is the latest blow for Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp, who has had to deal with a host of injuries to key players this season, including Virgil van Dijk, Thiago Alcantara, Luis Diaz and Diogo Jota.

Klopp revealed his concern when addressing Bajcetic’s injury this week.

“With Stefan, it is a stress response, which is absolutely bad,” he said. “We have just to let it settle then and we will see when he can come back.”

Liverpool was eliminated from the Champions League on Wednesday after being beaten 6-2 on aggregate by Madrid in the round of 16.

Klopp is now left with the job of trying to salvage the campaign by securing a top-four finish and a return to Europe’s elite competition next season.

“It’s the competition and we want to be part of it every year and it’s now a massive task for us,” Klopp said Wednesday. “We know that.”