Liverpool, England (My Sportsbook) - Liverpool's Mohamed "Momo" Sissoko will be forced to the bench for three months after suffering a shoulder injury in his squad's fixture against Birmingham in the 1-0 Carling Cup victory on Wednesday.

The 21-year-old got tangled up with opposing Mehdi Nafti and needed to be carried off the pitch and kept in the hospital over night. After further evaluation, it was determined that the Mali international will require surgery.

"It's clear we'll have to change something in the team," midfielder Xabi Alonso told the club's website. "There are times when we've played without him before and we've still managed to get good results."

The reorganization for the Reds could result in a shared central position between Alonso and skipper Steven Gerrard.

"Stevie and I have played together in the middle a lot, sometimes it's worked really well and other times we've had some problems," Alonso said. "We know we need to work together to find the balance, which is important for the team."

Sissoko spent time with Auxerre and Valencia before landing at Anfield, as he leads the Liverpool squad with most appearances made, stepping on the pitch 17 times in 2006.