Liverpool head coach Arne Slot was asked about Trent Alexander-Arnold’s injury status after his side’s penalty shootout loss to Paris Saint-Germain.
The Reds exited the Champions League in the last 16 on Tuesday night as they were beaten 4-1 on penalties by PSG after the sides drew 1-1 on aggregate.
PSG were the better side over the two legs and deserved to progress after Gianluigi Donnarumma saved Darwin Nunez and Curtis Jones’ efforts.
Liverpool cannot linger on this disappointment for too long as they face Newcastle United at Wembley in the Carabao Cup final on Sunday afternoon.
Slot has been dealt a potential injury blow ahead of this match as Alexander-Arnold was forced off with around 15 minutes of normal time remaining.
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The England international –who is among the 20 most valuable players due to be out of contract this summer – landed awkwardly after challenging for the ball and also collided with the advertisement hoarding.
Conor Bradley or Joe Gomez would usually be the obvious options to replace Alexander-Arnold, but the two defenders missed Tuesday’s match due to injury and will not be back in time for Sunday’s final.
Centre-back Jarell Quansah filled in for Alexander-Arnold after Liverpool’s No.1 right-back was forced off against PSG and he’ll likely start against Newcastle if his teammate cannot play.
Speaking post-match, Slot admitted Alexander-Arnold’s injury “didn’t look very good”.
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He admitted: “With Trent, he had to come off. That’s never a good sign.
“And from what I heard from people that saw the images or how he got injured, that didn’t look very good. So I would be surprised if he is available for Sunday.”
Liverpool expert and reporter for The Athletic, James Pearce, later confirmed that Alexander-Arnold is set to have a ‘scan’.
‘Alexander-Arnold appeared in immediate discomfort and received treatment on the pitch, before being replaced by Jarell Quansah.
‘He is set to undergo a scan on his ankle to determine the extent of the damage.’
Slot made a huge claim about the PSG match generally after his side produced an “incredible performance”.
“It was the best game of football I was ever involved in. Incredible performance, especially if you compare it with last week. We were creating chances, and then we were 1-0 down. Maybe we ran out of luck after last week,” Slot said.
“For me, it felt like we deserved more than being 1-0 down. We played the perfect game except for scoring a goal. It was similar to PSG last week, where they played the perfect game. And then in extra time they were maybe a little bit better.
“It came down to penalties and we, as Dutch, know how to lose them.
“For now, everyone should be disappointed … I know these players, they’re resilient. It had everyone you wanted from a game. From a Liverpool perspective, we could have at least wanted a draw after 90 minutes.”