Liverpool are dealt major injury blow as Harvey Elliott 'fractures his foot' while on England Under-21 duty - with the midfielder 'ruled out of action for a month'

Liverpool have been dealt a major injury blow with Harvey Elliott fracturing his foot during the international break, according to reports.

The Reds have had an almost perfect start to the season under Arne Slot, winning all three of their matches without conceding a goal and sitting second in the Premier League table so far.

They will take on Nottingham Forest at Anfield on Saturday, but will have to do so without one of their attacking stars due to injury.

Elliott, who impressed under Jurgen Klopp towards the back end of last season, has, according to The Telegraph, fractured his foot on international duty while training with England's Under-21 side.

The news comes as a major blow to Liverpool, whose schedule is now set to get heavier as the Champions League gets underway. 

The report suggests that Elliott reported discomfort while training with the England side over the break and went for further assessment after returning to Liverpool earlier than planned.

Elliott didn't feature in either of the Young Lions' games over the break - a 0-0 draw with Northern Ireland and a 4-1 win over Austria.

He is thought to be targeting a return to action after the next international break, with Liverpool pencilled in to host Chelsea on October 20.

He is yet to start a game for Liverpool this season, seeing just seven minutes of action - in the 2-0 win over Brentford - so far this term.

But his game time had been expected to increase, with the Champions League getting underway next week, and Liverpool visiting AC Milan.

Now, however, they will have to work out solutions to filling the void Eliott's absence will leave, with the 21-year-old expected to miss two European games and four Premier League matches, as well as a Carabao Cup tie.

Liverpool will face Forest on Saturday and Milan on Tuesday, before another Saturday game days later versus Bournemouth.

They will then host West Ham in the Carabao Cup on the Wednesday, before taking on Wolves in the Premier League on Saturday.

There is then a Champions League fixture against Bologna pencilled in, before the Reds travel to Crystal Palace on the Saturday in their final match before the next break.

Liverpool are also currently without Curtis Jones due to injury, meaning Slot is light when it comes to midfield options.

Dominik Szoboszlai and Alexis Mac Allister have done much of the heavy lifting in that area this campaign, while Ryan Gravenberch has excelled in a more defensive role.