Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers has been hit with more injury problems as the Reds' goalkeeper Brad Jones has been ruled out of the game against Swansea on Monday with a thigh injury he picked up during the triumph at Burnley on Boxing Day.
The Australian shotstopper was forced off the pitch in the 15th minute due to a thigh problem, and Simon Mignolet was brought in to replace him.
Although the Belgian goalkeeper ended up keeping a clean sheet against Burnley, he was far from impressive as he looked pretty unconvincing in front of goal.
However, as Jones is unavailable owing to the thign injury, Rodgers, who had earlier stated that he was going to drop Mignolet for an indefinite period following his poor performances this season, will be forced to play the Belgian against Swansea City on Monday.
And the Northern Irishman feels that Mignolet now has a good chance to prove himself and cement his place back in the first team.
"Brad came in, but he's injured. He'll [Jones] have a scan on his thigh and we'll see the result of that," Rodgers told Liverpool's official website.
"But it's an opportunity for Simon to come back in and prove his worth. He's a very good goalkeeper.
"I think he'll tell you that the time out has helped him to reflect a little bit and now come in and -- hopefully for him -- stay in the team."
Meanwhile, the likes of Joe Allen, Daniel Sturridge, Dejan Lovren, Glen Johnson and Jon Flanagan remain on the sidelines as they recover from their respective injuries.
On a more positive note, Fabio Borini, who missed out against Burnely, returns to the squad after serving a one-match suspension following his sending off in Liverpool's 2-2 draw against Arsenal.
Meanwhile, Rodgers will bank on Raheem Sterling again to provide the goals with the manager believing his forward is capable of scoring 10-15 goals in the Premier League this season.
With Sturridge out of action until mid January, and Rickie Lambert, Mario Balotelli and Fabio Borini struggling to score goals, Sterling has emerged as the Reds' main goal threat, having already netted six goals so far this season.
And Rodgers feels that Sterling will be able to shoulder the goalscoring responsibilities this season.
"He knows his job is to create goals and score goals and he's doing very well at the moment," said Rodgers, according to the Daily Mail.
"Between 10 and 15 would be a good return for him. The boy is a natural winger and if he gets those figures on a regular basis it's a very good number for him.
"You've other players who are out-and-out No 9s but as his career matures I think he will show he's got that ability [to score goals consistently]."
