Liverpool have confirmed that defender Daniel Agger is out for the season with his foot injury.

"It's a blow for Daniel but we want to get his problem sorted," Benitez said of Agger, who is to have surgery to correct the injury.

"We have defensive cover and Martin Skrtel is playing very well. Daniel will be back for next season."

The 23-year-old Denmark international first suffered the metatarsal injury in September and made a comeback in January, only for the problem to reappear soon afterwards.

Agger was initially expected to be out for two to three months but his lengthy recovery time was stalled further when Benitez admitted his season could be under threat.

Liverpool bought Slovakia stopper Skrtel in the January transfer window to plug the gap.

Reda Maher / Eurosport