Fuka Nagano injury update

The Reds midfielder missed last Saturday’s Adobe Women’s FA Cup defeat against Leicester City due to a muscle issue.

Nagano will again be sidelined for Sunday’s Prenton Park meeting with West Ham United, though Beard expects her to return in time for the subsequent Merseyside derby at Goodison Park.

“This weekend will be too soon for Fuka,” said the boss at his pre-match press conference. “She had a little bit of pain still on deceleration today in training, so she’ll be out.

“Obviously we’ve got Gemma Bonner suspended, and then Taylor Hinds is probably a couple of weeks away now.”

Beard later added on Nagano: “She’ll be fit for the week after. We were told sort of seven to 10 days, maybe two weeks at the most.

“It has been eight days now, so from that side we expect her to be available again next week.

“We’ve obviously got Ceri Holland back from suspension, which is a plus because to lose Ceri and Fuka out of your midfield at the same time was a tough one.”