Liverpool right-back Trent Alexander-Arnold is reportedly set to spend up to four weeks out injured with the muscle problem he sustained against Manchester City on Sunday. Alexander-Arnold pulled up in the second half of the Reds’ 1-1 Premier League draw and had to be replaced by James Milner shortly after the hour mark.
Jurgen Klopp said post-match at City: “Trent will be out for England, that is clear. What he has, we don’t know, but he cannot play for England.
“He will not be the last and not the only one who Gareth [Southgate] will miss for this international break. He will have a scan tomorrow and then we will see.”
And according to The Times, the result of the player’s scan leaves him facing a month on the sidelines with a calf injury.
If he is out for the full four weeks, the England defender will surely miss league matches with Leicester, Brighton and Wolves.
Alexander-Arnold would also then be absent for the final three Champions League matches of the group stage campaign at home to Atalanta and Ajax and away at Midtjylland.
PREMIER LEAGUE ON TV: Get NOW TV’s Sky Sports season pass now and save 25 per cent
Liverpool will hope to have the 22-year-old PFA Players’ Young Player of the Year back for the top-flight visit of Fulham on December 12, though he may hope to return earlier against either Wolves or Midtjylland the previous week, dependent on his rehabilitation.
The Premier League champions head into the international break third and one point behind league leaders Leicester after eight games.
In addition to missing the Reds’ upcoming games, Alexander-Arnold will sit on the sidelines for England’s three matches over the next two weeks.
The Three Lions face the Republic of Ireland in a friendly before Nations League showdowns with Belgium and Iceland but Alexander-Arnold was immediately withdrawn from the squad after the draw with City.
Liverpool have had to contend with a multitude of injury issues early into the season but will be optimistic of having Thiago Alcantara and Fabinho available against Leicester a week on Saturday. Neither will go out on international duty to instead spend a fortnight working on their fitness with club staff.
The Foxes, managed by former Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers, have won six and lost two of their first eight matches to top the table.
Milner is likely to stand in for Alexander-Arnold in some matches while Wales international Neco Williams is another back-up.
Defensive midfielder Fabinho, who has played at centre-back in the absence of Virgil van Dijk, can also play at right-back, where he used to be deployed for old club Monaco.
Any of the trio will struggle to replace Alexander-Arnold’s attacking output, despite his low-key start to the current league campaign by his standards.
The Liverpool academy graduate has managed five goals and 25 assists in the Premier League over the past two seasons.
MUST READS…
Liverpool player ratings vs Man City: Mane impressive, Firmino flops
Premier League talking points: Man Utd boss complaint, Mourinho joy
Liverpool told to buy ‘super’ David Alaba but issued transfer warning
After Alexander-Arnold’s injury, Liverpool boss Klopp hit out at the league scheduling that has seen a raft of muscle injuries in the division this season.
“Two weeks ago the club organised for me a meeting with Paul Molnar, who is responsible for the fixtures at the Premier League,” the German coach said.
“Paul Molnar told me we cannot change it because it’s not about Manchester United, it’s not about Liverpool, it’s not about Manchester City.
“We played after the last international break at 12.30pm on Saturday at Everton. Some of my players were playing in Peru on the Wednesday night. These kind of things should not happen.
“I understand 100 per cent the need of television, 100 per cent. But the Premier League needs to fulfill more the position of the unity of the players as well.
“Everything has changed apart from the fixture list. Usually in a season, we all have October, November and then a very tricky December. This year, October is like December, November is like December and then December is still like December. The intensity is really difficult.
“It’s completely normal we play Saturday. It’s the 12.30 which is the killer. People might like it and think it’s a proper competition and it gives other teams a chance.
“The only problem is we injure the players. You cannot keep the players fit like that. It’s not about us, it’s not about United, it’s about the fixtures.
“We want to play football, we need to play football, it’s great for the people. But Wednesday night and 12.30 [on Saturday] should not be allowed. Sky, BT, Premier League, BBC, whoever, they have to talk.
“We cannot deal with that situation like before. It’s important the FA are involved.”
This article contains affiliate links, which means we may receive a commission on any sales of products or services we write about. This article was written completely independently, see more details here