Watch more of our videos on ShotsTV.com
and on Freeview 262 or Freely 565
Visit Shots! now
Arne Slot has confirmed that one of his key players will not feature in Sunday’s Carabao Cup final against Newcastle United.
Trent Alexander-Arnold has been ruled-out of Sunday’s Carabao Cup final after he sustained an injury during Liverpool’s defeat against PSG on Tuesday night. Alexander-Arnold was helped off the Anfield pitch during the second-half of that match and was labelled a serious doubt to feature at Wembley by his manager in the immediate aftermath of the game.
“With Trent, he had to come off. That’s never a good sign,” Slot said.
"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."
The 26-year-old’s participation on Sunday was then thrown into even further doubt when he was omitted from Thomas Tuchel’s England squad for their upcoming games against Latvia and Albania at the end of the month. With those games just over a week away, Alexander-Arnold’s omission was a big hint over his fitness levels and, speaking just an hour after Tuchel’s squad was released, Slot confirmed that he would not be available for selection at Wembley.
Arne Slot’s Trent Alexander-Arnold injury update
Speaking about the defender on Friday morning, Slot said: “Trent is indeed not available, he will not be there at the final. He’s still to be assessed for how long it will take, but we do expect him back by the end of the season.”
🚨Don’t miss a single thing from Wembley when you sign up for our Newcastle United newsletter
On his potential replacement at Wembley, whether it will be Jarell Quansah or Wataru Endo, Slot added: “Yeah, maybe Curtis [Jones] can play there. And you can also play with a left-footed defender on the right side which is what Newcastle are doing at the moment.”
Liverpool injury news
Elsewhere, Joe Gomez and Conor Bradley will certainly miss out on Sunday. Gomez has a hamstring issue and faces a race against time to be fit before the end of the season.
Bradley, meanwhile, suffered a muscle injury during Liverpool’s draw against Aston Villa last month and is set for another few weeks on the sidelines. With Bradley, Alexander-Arnold’s natural replacement, also set to miss out on Sunday, it’s likely that Slot will be forced into a reshuffle of his defence with Jarell Quansah potentially set to play at right-back.
Ibrahima Konate, who also left the field on Tuesday night through injury, is expected to be fit this weekend and will likely partner Virgil van Dijk in the heart of the defence.
On the Frenchman, Slot said: “What about Ibou Konate? We didn’t train yesterday and the day before was recovery so I expect him to train with us today but we will see how he is.”
Liverpool, elsewhere, have a fairly clean bill of health as they head to Wembley aiming to retain the trophy they won by defeating Chelsea in last season’s final. Van Dijk popped up with an extra-time winner in that match to seal the final trophy of Jurgen Klopp’s reign as Red boss.
Your next Newcastle United read: Inside Liverpool’s bombshell injury blow v Newcastle United as Arne Slot forced to change plans