Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp will give Joel Matip as long as possible to recover from his troublesome ankle before naming his line-up against Stoke City, yet has no fears if Ragnar Kalvan again has to deputise.

The Estonian centre back was expected to be little more than occasional back-up when he arrived as a £4 million virtual unknown in the summer.

Yet after a shaky start, Klavan has been outstanding in the last two games, with clean sheets in winning at Middlesbrough and Everton.

Klopp admitted: “A few weeks ago Ragnar still needed to adapt a little bit to all the circumstances, but now he is in a really good moment and we should use it."