Liverpool defender Jeremie Frimpong faces several weeks out of action with a hamstring injury, Reds manager Arne Slot said Thursday.

Frimpong suffered the setback during the Premier League champions' 4-2 opening win over Bournemouth at Anfield last Friday. The former Bayer Leverkusen full-back, a reported £29.5 million ($39.6 million) replacement for Trent Alexander-Arnold, went off after an hour of his home league debut for Liverpool.  

"The medical team were completely right about Jeremie to tell me to take him off because he is out until the end of the international break (September 10) and that happened during the game," Slot told a pre-match press conference ahead of Liverpool's game against Newcastle on Monday.

"I think I got criticised for taking him off, didn't I?" the Dutch boss added. "It had nothing to do with how he played but we felt he had an issue with his hamstring and by we, I mean the medical staff. It was a good call to take him off, otherwise he would have been out for longer. We expect to have him back after the international break."

Conor Bradley, Liverpool's other option at right-back, only returned from injury to training on Thursday.

The build-up to Monday's match at St. James' Park has been dominated by Liverpool's pursuit of unsettled Newcastle striker Alexander Isak, with the Magpies reported to be demanding a British record transfer fee of £150 million ($202 million) for the 25-year-old Sweden international.