Mamadou Sakho was not included in Liverpool's squad to face Basel in the Champions League tomorrow night because he is injured, manager Brendan Rodgers has claimed.

The defender left Anfield early on Saturday after being told that he was not in the squad to face Everton in the Merseyside derby.

"It's not something that we expect from our players," Rodgers told reporters. "We have spoken, he knows the situation and he has apologised. We move on. He has been injured in a training session. He has felt something in his thigh, he has had a scan and it will be two to three weeks.

"This is a group that has based its success on being a team and its behaviour within the group. Whatever we have achieved has been down to the team. We are working hard to consistently win games.

"It will take a wee bit of time but [the reaction of one player] is never something that affects that team. We are working consistently hard to win games. We have not made as good a start as we would have wanted but there is a number of reasons why."

Meanwhile, Basel coach Paulo Sousa has said that his team must be perfect against Liverpool.