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Arne Slot offers Federico Chiesa injury update with hint over Liverpool's Southampton cup tie

Federico Chiesa is set to play some part in Liverpool's game against Southampton in the Carabao Cup on Wednesday night.

The Italian forward has not figured for the Reds since September and has featured for just 78 minutes across his three appearances since moving to Anfield from Juventus in the summer.

Chiesa did not have a proper pre-season after being frozen out by new Juventus manager Thiago Motta, so did not arrive in England in the best shape to deal with the rigors of English football.

The Italian was put on a specialized training programme by Slot and his staff and returned to full training last week, and is set to be involved in the Reds' game against Southampton in some capacity.

"It's definitely a moment where he can get minutes and the amount of minutes is a question mark, you cannot expect him to play 90, especially not at this level, where the intensity is so high," Slot said of Chiesa during his pre-match press conference.

"He's been out for five or six months now, but he will — if he has a good training session — he will make minutes, but it's going to be a game when not all of our regular starters will start, so we have to manage minutes if we want to use a few starters, but not for 90 minutes.

"I can only make five substitutions so the ones that make minutes and go off maybe at half-time can't be more than five, because you can only make five substitutions. So he (Chiesa) will make minutes tomorrow, if he starts or comes in or plays the second half, that's something we have to make a decision on."

Federico Chiesa most recently played for Liverpool's under-21s

Federico Chiesa most recently played for Liverpool's under-21s

Slot, meanwhile, said that Diogo Jota may not figure against Southampton, despite scoring on his return to the pitch against Fulham on Saturday after almost two months out.

"Diogo would be one who would definitely have played but Diogo wasn't completely fit after the game against Fulham," Slot said. "Hopefully he can train with us today but don't expect him to start against Southampton."

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