Liverpool will miss the services of right-back Trent Alexander-Arnold in their next match against Manchester City due to injury. It is a very important game for both the sides in the context of the Premier League and missing someone of that stature will peg back the Reds against the reigning champions.
Alexander-Arnold, unfortunately, suffered a groin problem during training on Monday and subsequently missed out on Liverpool’s Champions League clash against FC Porto. However, Jurgen Klopp has revealed that the young defender has not recovered enough and will be absent in their Premier League showdown against Pep Guardiola’s men.
There are more problems for the Reds as Klopp has confirmed that Spanish midfielder Thiago Alcantara is also out of this clash as he is still recovering from his calf problem. The German tactician still remains hopeful that both his players will be back in action after the international break.
When asked if Alexander-Arnold and Thiago’s fitness will allow them to feature against Manchester City, Klopp told the official website, “No. No ‘news’ means they are doing well but they won’t have enough time for being back against City, but I expect them both to be back after the international break.
“But we have a good team so we still have solutions and we have to use them and yeah, after the international break the boys will be back I think.”
The German tactician further explained about Alexander-Arnold’s injury in interaction with BT Sport ahead of their clash against FC Porto in the Champions League. “He’s injured, unfortunately.
“In training yesterday Trent went in a little bit earlier. It didn’t look serious, then we did further assessment and in the end, it was serious.
“He is out for today, for sure. He didn’t travel with us. And it doesn’t look great for the City game as well.
“It’s a muscle thing. We thought it was tight, that he was just a bit tired from the [Brentford] game, but it was more and now we have to deal with that. It’s the adductor [muscle].”
It will be important for Klopp to find solutions as Alexander-Arnold’s absence can be a big problem for the Reds if not taken care of properly. He used James Milner in a stopgap right-back role against Porto and they emerged 5-1 victorious away from home. The veteran has played in that position many times in his career. He earlier played as a right-back against Crystal Palace and that also resulted in a Liverpool win.
However, City are a notch above in terms of quality so Klopp may look at other options. Young right-back Neco Williams is back from injury and may replace Alexander-Arnold. Whereas Joe Gomez can also play as a right-back and provide more solidity to the backline.
In midfielders, Klopp will be missing Thiago Alcantara and Harvey Elliot for this match. While Curtis Jones has impressed everyone, Naby Keita is also back from injury. So Klopp will have to select one of the players to partner alongside Jordan Henderson and Fabinho in the middle of the park. Lastly Roberto Firmino is also back from his hamstring injury and will be available for this important clash. The Brazilian came off the bench against Porto and scored a fantastic brace as Liverpool won 5-1 at the Estadio do Dragao
