LIVERPOOL FC are already making plans to be without Luis Suarez and Lucas Leiva for the start of the Premier League season.

Striker Suarez, who made an instant impact in the Premier League following his January move from Ajax, and Lucas, who was last season’s player of the season, look likely to be involved in the Copa America tournament until late July.

LFC manager Kenny Dalglish will almost certainly want both players to then have a break from competitive football, meaning the two South Americans could be returning to Merseyside barely a week before the new season starts.

Suarez is an integral member of the Uruguay squad which is grouped with Peru, Chile and Mexico in the tournament which starts this weekend, while Lucas is in the Brazil squad which faces Paraguay, Venezuela and Ecuador.

While Brazil have the weaker group, Uruguay’s surge to the sem-finals of last summer’s World Cup means hopes are high that they will reach the latter stages of the South American tournament too.

Liverpool first team coach Steve Clarke, however, is unconcerned.

“We wish them all the best for their countries and we’ll look after them,” he said. “It’ll be up to us to make sure we put them in at the right time. The most important thing is they get adequate recovery time.