Garth Crooks has told BBC Sport that Liverpool will not win the Premier League if Fabinho gets injured.
Liverpool currently lead the way in the standings, but they have not looked infallible this year.
The Reds were held to a draw last night by Newcastle United, as their relatively poor away form continued.
And Crooks now thinks that if Fabinho is injured then Liverpool’s title challenge could be ended there and then.
“When I heard Virgil van Dijk was out for the best part of the season I immediately thought ‘there goes the title’,” he said.
“The situation was further compounded when Joe Gomez suffered a long-term injury shortly afterwards.
“Two centre-backs who were so vital to Liverpool’s fortunes were no longer available. Suddenly Manchester United, Chelsea, Tottenham and Manchester City all thought they were in with a chance.
“Well that was before Fabinho moved out of Liverpool’s midfield and into their back four and performed like a colossus. With Joel Matip now added to that casualty list, should anything happen to Fabinho it really is curtains for the champions.”
Fabinho has seriously impressed since stepping into Liverpool’s backline, and if he was to be ruled out for any significant period of time, then it would be a major blow to Klopp’s men.
At the moment Nathaniel Phillips is having to step into Liverpool’s defence, despite being extremely inexperienced.
If Fabinho was sidelined it seems likely that Rhys Williams would have to feature alongside Phillips, and even though the pair have both performed admirably so far, opposition teams would likely target the defensive pair, given their lack of game time.
Klopp will now be desperately hoping that Fabinho does not pick up any problems, despite Liverpool’s busy fixture list over the coming weeks.
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