Liverpool's Adam Lallana remains doubtful for return to Southampton

Liverpool attacker Adam Lallana remains a doubt for the weekend trip to former club Southampton with a groin injury, manager Jurgen Klopp has confirmed. The 28-year-old limped out of England's friendly draw with Spain after a recurrence of an old fitness issue and, despite being assessed by the Merseyside club, the extent of the problem is yet to be determined.

Lallana lasted just 27 minutes of the 2-2 draw at Wembley before being replaced by Theo Walcott, limping down the tunnel immediately after being taken off. Reports have since suggested that the former AFC Bournemouth youngster will miss the game at St Mary's but Klopp remains optimistic Lallana could be available on Saturday (19 November).

"95% is good news – but with Adam we don't know yet," the Liverpool boss said regarding Lallana, according to the Liverpool Echo. "We haven't done a scan until now. It will be close. I don't know. Hopefully it's not too serious, but we have to wait."

Should Lallana fail to prove his fitness in time for the game on the south coast then it will break up the attacking quartet that includes Philippe Coutinho, Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino, who have helped Liverpool accumulate 30 league goals this season – the most in the top flight. The 6-1 thrashing of Watford means the Reds return from the international break top of the table after 11 league matches.

The return of the domestic season has been overshadowed by the off-the-field controversy created by Wayne Rooney, who was pictured drinking at a wedding reception until 5am after England's World Cup qualifying win over Scotland. The Manchester United captain has been forced to apologise for his behaviour after images were published in The Sun newspaper, an act of contribution Klopp believes was completely unnecessary.

The Liverpool manager commented: "Maybe you should tell me what exactly happened. Somebody saw Wayne Rooney doing what? Most of the time I speak about things I have no idea about so why shouldn't I do it now? I feel sorry for the players. We live on the sunny side of life and all this stuff but in the end, maybe it is a surprise, there is a human being behind the kid.

"This generation is the most professional generation of footballers – not only in England – we have ever had. All the legends you admire drank like devils and smoked like crazy and were still good players. Nobody does that anymore. I've no idea where Wayne was but I'm pretty sure it was not that serious."