Liverpool confirms midfielder Philippe Coutinho has been ruled out until the end of October as he requires shoulder surgery in the wake of the 2-2 draw with Swansea

Coutinho was fouled by Swans captain Ashley Williams, forcing him to go off and he will have a procedure to have his AC joint stabilised

Coutinho picked up the injury in the 2-2 draw with Swansea (GETTY IMAGES)

Liverpool midfielder Philippe Coutinho has been ruled out until at least the end of October with the Brazilian set to undergo shoulder surgery, the club have confirmed.

Coutinho picked up the injury after being tackled by Swansea captain Ashley Williams in which the 21-year-old was sent crashing to the floor, taking the brunt of the impact on his right shoulder.

A club statement on their official website liverpoolfc.com read: “After being assessed by the Reds medical staff, it's been decided that Coutinho will now have surgical stabilisation on the AC joint in his shoulder.”

The news is a major blow to manager Brendan Rodgers, who admitted his side lacked the same conviction they had with Coutinho in the side once he had gone off.

Liverpool eventually saw Swans forward Michu grab an equaliser to hold the Reds to a 2-2 draw, although the result was still enough to see the Merseyside outfit return to the summit of the Premier League.

The injury means that Coutinho will miss next week’s Capital One Cup clash with Manchester United as well as league matches against Southampton, Sunderland, Crystal Palace, Newcastle and West Brom, but he could return just in time for the trip to the Emirates to take on Arsenal at the beginning of November.

Coutinho has impressed since his arrival at Anfield in January this year when he joined from Inter Milan in an £8.5m deal. He has flourished playing just behind the striker, be it Luis Suarez or Daniel Sturridge, and he his partnership with the latter this season is a key reason why Liverpool top the table at this early stage.

A boost for Rodgers though will be the imminent return of Suarez once his 10-match ban is completed. The Uruguayan striker will miss this weekend’s tie against Southampton, but he will be available for next week’s encounter with United having been suspended for biting Chelsea’s Branislav Ivanovic towards the end of last season.

With Coutinho missing, Rodgers could look to partner Sturridge and Suarez with one behind the other rather than leaving one of them out wide, although he also has other options in pushing Steven Gerrard up or bringing back Iago Aspas, who was dropped to the bench to accommodate the on-loan Victor Moses.