Liverpool: Jordan Henderson a major doubt for Euro 2016 as knee injury derails England hopes

England midfielder Jordan Henderson has emerged as a major doubt for Euro 2016 after confirmation that he will the rest of the domestic season with a knee injury. The Liverpool captain was replaced by Joe Allen at half-time of Jurgen Klopp's first return to Borussia Dortmund on Thursday (7 April) and the club have now revealed that he has suffered damage to his lateral collateral ligament.

"A scan on the knee injury Jordan Henderson sustained during Liverpool's clash with Borussia Dortmund on Thursday night has shown isolated damage to his lateral collateral ligament," an official statement confirmed. "The Reds captain picked up the problem during the first half of the 1-1 draw at Signal Iduna Park and was subsequently replaced by Joe Allen at the interval.

"Further examination upon his return to Liverpool on Friday afternoon uncovered the extent of the damage. Under normal circumstances, an LCL injury can typically lead to anything up to a three-month layoff. However, Henderson's issue appears to be less serious and providing all goes well with the midfielder's recovery programme, the time out of action could be limited to between six and eight weeks. The 25-year-old does not require surgery on the injury."

Liverpool finish the 2015-16 campaign away to West Brom on 15 May and could be involved in the Europa League final in Basel three days later, should they progress past Dortmund and successfully negotiate a semi-final tie against either Shakhtar Donetsk, Braga, Sparta Prague, Villarreal, Sevilla or Athletic Bilbao.

Even if Henderson does recover sufficiently during that optimistic six to eight week time frame, his chances of appearing at the European Championship finals in France this summer appear very slim indeed. England boss Roy Hodgson plans to name his 23-man squad for the tournament on Thursday 12 May, three days before the end of the Premier League season and two-and-a-half weeks ahead of the official Uefa deadline.

The Three Lions begin their Group B campaign against Leonid Slutsky's Russia at the Stade Velodrome in Marseille on 11 June before facing Wales in Lens and Slovakia in St Etienne. Henderson, who has earned 23 senior international caps during his career to date, is considered a regular starter under Hodgson and occupied a holding role alongside Tottenham's Eric Dier for the 3-2 victory over world champions Germany last month. He was rested for the subsequent defeat against the Netherlands.