Arne Slot reported “a few issues” with fitness within Liverpool’s squad ahead of their upcoming match against Chelsea.
The Reds’ Premier League season resumes on Sunday, and the head coach remains uncertain about who will be available to face the Blues at Anfield.
During his pre-match press conference on Friday morning, Slot confirmed that Alisson Becker will be sidelined for several weeks due to the injury he sustained in the 1-0 victory against Crystal Palace a fortnight ago.
He also indicated that there are several decisions to be made regarding other players following the international break.
Slot said: “Alisson is for sure not with us in the upcoming weeks, that’s clear.
“So, that’s a blow for him and for us because I think he did really well this season and did so well for this club for so many years.
“Now the good thing is, and I said this many times, that Caoimhin [Kelleher] did well for us in previous years and this season also, so we have a good replacement.
“But you always want all of your players available.
“Now we’ve got quite some issues from players coming back from the national teams, and we can only judge that perfectly today because today is the first time that they are all in and the first time that they are all training together again.
“So, let’s see after the session where everybody is.
“Macca [Alexis Mac Allister] missed one game [for Argentina], he played the second one.
“Kostas [Tsimikas] missed out in the first game against England so I can name them all but we’ve got a few issues going on and let’s wait and see where we are after today.
“[Wataru] Endo as well was also sick.”
Slot also acknowledged that the club is investigating why Alisson has been plagued by frequent muscle injuries, noting that it’s ‘uncommon’ for a goalkeeper to spend so much time sidelined.
He said: “It’s a bit uncommon for goalkeepers, but for me, it’s common because the goalkeeper I had at Feyenoord had his issues.
“We are looking into it what could be the reason.
“We know that if you get one, the chances of getting another one go up.
“Maybe it’s a chance for me to explain, there was a rumour that I don’t mind the 12.30pm kick-off and it’s not a problem because we train at the same time, but what might be something for the FA to think about is if you play Wednesday in a Champions League game, then to play on Saturday at 12.30pm it might be a disadvantage with injuries.
“If you play shortly after playing on a Wednesday evening then it’s something you can take into consideration.
“Although it’s hard to change all 11 players. in retrospect I might have chosen Caoimh instead of Alisson, but like you said you don’t expect a goalkeeper to pick up an injury.
“In Holland, 99% of teams who play in the Champions League in the upcoming week don’t play on a Sunday, they get extra rest to be best prepared.”
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