Liverpool midfielder Mascherano (right) will be injured for the majority of his four-match suspension

Javier Mascherano will use his four-match ban to recover from a knee injury after Liverpool confirmed that he has a medial ligament sprain.

The midfielder injured himself and was then red-carded following a reckless challenge on Portsmouth's Tal Ben-Haim in the 2-0 defeat at Fratton Park.

He will miss the games against Wolves, Aston Villa, the FA Cup tie with Reading, and Tottenham on 10 January.

But club officials suspect he would have been out for that long anyway.

"The player had a scan which confirmed the medical team's initial diagnosis that he suffered a medial ligament sprain in his left knee," a club spokesman told Liverpool's website.

606: DEBATE Your reaction to Mascherano's injury

"He is expected to be sidelined for two to three weeks," he added.

The Argentina captain was handed an automatic four-game ban because he had already served a suspension this season.

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