Liverpool are set to be without at least seven players when they make the trip to Brentford on Saturday lunchtime.
Speaking at his pre-match press conference ahead of the clash, Jurgen Klopp confirmed that Mohamed Salah is one of a number of senior players who will come back into contention to faces the Bees after a spell on the sidelines. The Egyptian hasn’t played for the Reds since New Year’s Day, having suffered a hamstring injury when on Africa Cup of Nations Duty.
However, the German also revealed that Trent Alexander-Arnold will definitely miss next weekend’s League Cup final against Chelsea and isn’t expected to return until next month.
Dominik Szoboszlai is also a major doubt for the showpiece occasion at Wembley, and has been ruled out of Liverpool’s next two clashes with Brentford and Luton Town as a result.
Meanwhile, it was later confirmed on Friday that Alisson Becker is also set for a stint on the sidelines after injuring his hamstring in training. Here’s the latest Reds injury news ahead of Saturday lunchtime’s trip to the capital…
Alisson Becker
Alisson will miss Liverpool’s trip to Brentford after suffering a hamstring injury in training at the AXA Training Centre.
The ECHO reported on Friday evening that the Brazilian has instead remained on Merseyside to undergo further checks on the injury with Caoimhin Kelleher set to continue in goal as a result.
The shot-stopped missed three games earlier this season with a similar problem picked up during the closing stages of the 1-1 draw at fellow title contenders Manchester City in November.
While the severity of his latest issue is currently unclear, Alisson looks highly likely to miss the Reds’ league clashes with Brentford and Luton Town, while he’ll also be a doubt for next weekend’s League Cup final clash with Chelsea.
Liverpool host Southampton in the FA Cup at the end of the month before travelling to Nottingham Forest. They then host Man City in a Premier League top-of-the-table clash on March 10, with the Reds having everything cross that the Brazilian will be fit in time to face their title-rivals.
Expected return date: Unknown
Trent Alexander-Arnold
Alexander-Arnold is potentially an injury doubt for Liverpool’s clash with Man City on March 10 after Klopp confirmed that the defender will definitely miss the League Cup final through injury.
The England international was withdrawn at half-time in the Reds’ 3-1 win over Burnley last weekend after aggravating a previous knee injury. Originally suffered away at Arsenal, he was initially sidelined for three weeks before suffering recurrence of the issue.
Speaking at his pre-match press conference ahead of facing Brentford, Klopp confirmed that the defender will definitely miss the League Cup final on February 25, and is likely to be sidelined for a further week or two after the trip to Wembley.
“People think about the final, which is fine absolutely, but before the final we have Brentford and Luton and I didn’t think for a second about the final yet,” he said. “‘He can’t play the final?!’ Yes, that’s one game but we have before then there are two games, which is as bad that they cannot play.
“I think with Dom it will be around that time, we will see how it exactly works. And with Trent, a week or two longer. It is not great but it was not to avoid, actually, that it happened.
“I would say, I’m not sure Dom has a chance for the final but maybe, and Trent will probably be after.”
Expected return date: Early March – Nottingham Forest A, March 2/Man City H, March 10
Dominik Szoboszlai
Szoboszlai is facing a race against time to be fit for the League Cup final next week after a recurrence of a hamstring injury.
The Hungarian midfielder has missed Liverpool’s last two matches against Arsenal and Burnley, having originally suffered the issue in the Reds’ 4-2 win over Newcastle on New Year’s Day.
Sidelined for four weeks at the time, he returned in the FA Cup against Norwich before scoring against Chelsea on January 31. But he is now sidelined again after aggravating the injury.
Should he indeed miss the League Cup final, having already been ruled out of facing Brentford and Luton Town, then Szoboszlai could potentially return in the FA Cup at home to Southampton on February 28.
Expected return date: Late February – Southampton H, February 28
Thiago Alcantara
Thiago remains sidelined with a muscle injury suffered against Arsenal earlier this month, having only just returned to first-team action following a lengthy spell out with a hip injury.
Klopp offered no fresh update on the Spaniard ahead of facing Brentford, beyond confirming that he remains out, but previously insisted that the midfielder had not been ruled out for the season.
The German said last week: “Thiago, obviously, is not cool. Everything looked absolutely fantastic in training. It’s a muscle issue; we don’t know the extent yet. We have to wait there a little bit, but it’s not cool, of course. It was really not good news for him, for us, for everybody. On top of losing the game already and having that is not good.
“Yes, [I expect him to play again this season], but we didn’t really think about that, in the moment we just treat the injury and get a full assessment done and knowing exactly where it came from. It’s just the normal procedure and it would not be a big story if he wouldn’t have been out for that long a time. That’s how it is. It’s not a big, big injury, definitely not, but it’s obviously something nobody needed.”
Expected return date: Unknown
Stefan Bajcetic
Stefan Bajcetic has endured a frustrating period in his fledgling Anfield career after a number of injury problems. He enjoyed a strong debut campaign last season but saw it end prematurely after suffering a stress response in his adductor in March.
Bajcetic returned in September with outings in the Carabao Cup and Europa League, but his involvement against LASK Linz proved to be his last after suffering a calf issue. It remains unclear when he will return to full training.
He was caught on video playing darts at the AXA Training Centre in full training wear in midweek, but is yet to be seen in full team training.
Expected return date: Unknown
Joel Matip
Joel Matip is recovering from surgery after suffering an anterior cruciate ligament injury. The 32-year-old, who is in the final months of his contract at Liverpool, is expected to miss the rest of the season. However, he has still been included in the Reds’ Premier League squad for the second half of the campaign.
The centre-back was left stricken in the 70th minute of the dramatic Premier League 4-3 win over Fulham in December after an off-the-ball incident.
Expected return date: Unknown
Ben Doak
Ben Doak is out long-term with a serious knee injury sustained playing for the Under-21s against Chelsea. Assistant manager Pep Lijnders said of Doak’s condition: “That’s not a good one. He tore his lateral meniscus, which needs surgery.
“That one will take (a) longer time. He is young, he is a fit guy, he is a positive guy so for sure he will come back stronger, and we need him to come back with the same fire he has with the ball, how he was. We will wait for him.”
Expected return date: Unknown
