Liverpool first-team coach Steve Clarke believes the international break has created a "difficult situation" ahead of next weekend's clash with Manchester United.
Liverpool, currently fifth in the Premier League, take on the league leaders on Saturday in one of the most fiercely contested rivalries in the game.
However, a substantial number of players are currently with their countries and, with the likes of Luis Suarez and Lucas Leiva away in South America until Thursday, Clarke is having to keep his fingers crossed that they return ready for action.
"The preparations will be exactly the same," he told the club's official website. "We don't get the full group to work with until the day before the game, which is disappointing but you just have to deal with it.
"The boys that are left behind do their work as normal - we work them hard in training, give them pointers towards the game and if we can give them something that will make the game easier for them on Saturday then that's good.
"It's not ideal because it [the game] comes on the back of an international break and we've only had five or six players left behind here at Melwood."
He added: "We don't get the group back in its entirety until Thursday afternoon when the boys come back from South America, so you don't get a lot of time to work with the team.
"The majority will be reporting in on Wednesday. We'll make sure they're okay after the internationals and do a light training session. It will be similar on Thursday.
"Hopefully we'll have time on Friday to do a bit of team play and get them ready for the game, but it's a difficult situation. You just hope you get players coming back fit and well and you work on them mentally to make sure they're ready for such a big game."
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