Liverpool Manager Brendan Rodgers Plays Down Fabio Borini Shoulder Injury

Liverpool's continued attempts to replace Luis Suarez this summer look uncertain after Fabio Borini picked up a shoulder injury in the friendly defeat to Roma, which could hold up his move to Sunderland.

The Reds are hoping to secure deals for Loic Remy and Divock Origi this week, with the former agreement seemingly hinging on Borini moving to the Stadium Light.

However, that deal has been thrown into some doubt after the Italian striker collided with Seydou Keita in Boston and had to be withdrawn, and Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers has confirmed he will miss a few days training.

"It's probably not as bad as first thought," Rodgers said. "He's had problems in the past with his shoulder, but he's only bruised it.

"He'll miss a few days of training. He won't train now for the remainder of the trip here, but it's only going to be a matter of days before he's back training and playing again."

The length of Borini's recovery and the extent of the problem could impact on the Merseysiders' other transfer dealings.

Borini scored seven Premier League goals while on loan at Sunderland last term, but doubt was cast over a permanent move to the club after travelling on Liverpool's pre-season tour of the United States while reports suggest he is being evasive over a switch away.

With Remy having completed the first part of his medical ahead of a move to Anfield, the deal is close to completion however should Borini's move to Sunderland be called off, it could delay the move or even see it fall through altogether.

Manager Gus Poyet said: "I can assure you though that there is no disappointment on my part that it has not happened yet.

"It is normal. With all respect to the media, they do not know everything that is going on. It is not for me to explain but it is not just a question of Fabio wanting to come or not.

"There are many, many things to look at and unfortunately I cannot comment on those. We are involved in negotiations and you never know how long that can take. There's nothing new to report as things stand but we are still hoping to close the deal completely."

Origi, the Belgium international, will still be expected to move to Liverpool, with an agreement in place which would see him loaned back to Lille for next season.