Jurgen Klopp said Liverpool's players reacted with shock when informed Kenny Dalglish had tested positive for coronavirus and expressed relief the Reds legend has since returned home from hospital.
Dalglish tested positive on Wednesday while attending hospital for treatment on gallstones but was discharged on Saturday after showing no symptoms of COVID-19.
The news of Dalglish's test had an emotional impact on the current Liverpool squad according to Klopp, who said the situation was discussed in a group on the WhatsApp messaging platform.
"It was a real shock three days ago when I heard about it first," Klopp told Liverpool's official website.
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"The boys were sent a message in our WhatsApp group and everybody was like, 'wow'.
"What you feel in that moment is a massive difference if you know somebody who got the virus, or if you don't know.
"In this moment, it was like, 'wow, one of us has it' and it was really crazy."
Dalglish arrived at Liverpool as a player in 1977 and won six league titles and three European Cups during a spell that saw him become player-manager from 1985 until 1990.
Klopp indicated the closeness between his players and Dalglish, saying: "We all know this terrible disease is causing heartache all over the world, but this was the first time for many of us someone we have such a personal connection to was affected to this extent.
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"I had the opportunity to text immediately with one of his daughters and we spoke about it. She was quite, not relaxed, but she was fine and said it looked all well – and two days later we heard he was released from hospital.
"It's good news – very good news – and I hope he is doing well still.
"We all know Kenny and we love him. We just sent him all our thoughts and prayers in that moment, but maybe he didn't need it, which is even better."
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