Jurgen Klopp has been handed a selection headache after Curtis Jones lost his appeal against his red card against Tottenham.

In Saturday’s violent 2-1 Premier League loss for Liverpool, Jones received a red card. Following a VAR intervention in the 26th minute, the Liverpool midfielder’s original yellow card for a challenge on Yves Bissouma was changed to a red.

Liverpool filed an appeal against the ruling, but on Tuesday learned that their appeal had been denied. As a result, Jones will now serve a three-match suspension in the Premier League. He is unable to travel to play Brighton on Sunday, though he could play against Union Saint-Gilloise in the Europa League on Thursday.

Diogo Jota is also suspended for the Seagulls game, having also been sent off against Spurs. Jota picked up two yellow cards in as many minutes in the second half in north London to leave Liverpool with nine men.

He will now serve a one-match suspension, meaning he will be able to return for the Merseyside Derby on October 21. Jones will miss that game, as well as the Premier League game against Nottingham Forest on October 29, before being eligible to return against Luton on November 5.

The two suspensions are major blows for Klopp, who also has injuries to contend with. Cody Gakpo went down injured in first-half stoppage time at Spurs and was substituted at half-time. He was later seen limping and wearing a brace and Klopp was gutted to lose him.

He said: “The biggest problem of the game, to be honest… before Cody Gakpo scored, we got a free-kick and he got injured and he is now with a brace limping down the corridor. That’s my biggest problem, to be honest, in this moment. We lost two [to red cards] and maybe a third player – really bad, really bad. So, yes, that’s something we have to deal with obviously.”

Asked if it was a bad injury, he added: “Possibly, I don’t know. He wore a brace. He scored a goal but afterwards, but after that shot he felt it even more. It was from the foul before.”

Liverpool are also without the injured duo of Stefan Bajcetic and Thiago Alcantara. Bajcetic came back from a long-term injury, but has suffered a minor calf problem, which Liverpool are being careful not to exacerbate.