Liverpool legend Jamie Carragher has warned his former club not to make a major mistake in the January transfer window
Jamie Carragher believes Liverpool will "lift the hopes" of their Premier League title rivals if they fail to sign a centre-back in January.
The Reds have been grappling with a defensive injury crisis for much of the campaign with Virgil van Dijk and then Joe Gomez sidelined by long-term serious knee problems.
Joel Matip has been restricted to just nine starts and is out for at least the next fortnight with an adductor complaint.
Fabinho has been pressed into an emergency centre-back role with 19-year-old Rhys Williams and Nat Phillips - neither of whom had played in the Premier League before this season - competing to partner the Brazilian.
Despite the concerns, Liverpool went into the New Year top of the table with just one defeat from their first 16 league matches.
But Reds legend Carragher is convinced Jurgen Klopp's side would be offering unnecessary encouragement to their fellow championship challengers if they don't bolster their centre-back options during this month's transfer window.
"The injury to Virgil Van Dijk alone will cost Liverpool between nine and 12 points over the course of this season," he said.
"And although Fabinho has proved a fantastic deputy at the back, Joel Matip’s ongoing problems means, to me at least, that it is inconceivable that Liverpool will not sign another centre-half at the earliest opportunity.
"I cannot understand the logic of not doing so. The club needed one anyway."