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Arne Slot has admitted Trent Alexander-Arnold will not make the Carabao Cup final against Newcastle United.
Liverpool supporters were distraught when the England star hobbled off during their Champions League defeat to Paris Saint-Germain. Alexander-Arnold closed down PSG midfielder Vitinha and appeared to roll his ankle.
A lengthy period receiving treatment resulted in the 26-year-old being subbed and attention immediately turned to the Carabao Cup final. While nobody wishes an injury on a professional footballer, Toon fans would have at least hoped for Alexander-Arnold to miss the Wembley showdown on Sunday.
That is now set to be the case, with Liverpool boss Slot confirming the setback at his pre-match press conference. However, Ibrahima Konate, who came off during extra time on Tuesday, trained yesterday and should be available.
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“So Trent is indeed not available,” Slot told reporters. “He will not be there at the final but he's still to be assessed for how long it's going to take. We do expect him back at the end of the season.
“He (Konate) didn't train yesterday. We had a day off and the day before was (a) recovery (day). So I expect him to train with us today, but let's see how he is.”
Liverpool, Newcastle and neutral fans have been robbed of arguably the most intriguing matchup in the Carabao Cup final. Less than two weeks ago, the thought of Anthony Gordon and Alexander-Arnold going to battle at Wembley was mouth-watering.
However, the Toon ace was dismissed for a petulant red card against Brighton - and Alexander-Arnold will now watch on from the sidelines. Slot recognised the battleground shift but still expects a high-quality game.
“Trent is a very important player for us and, yes, Anthony Gordon is a very important player for them,” he added. “But the good thing for both managers is that there are still a lot of quality players (still) available.”
Eddie Howe paints Newcastle United’s pre-game injury picture
Eddie Howe also laid out Newcastle’s injury situation before Sunday’s game. He said: “We’ve got the long-term issues. Lewis Hall is recovering after his operation now, Sven is recovering after his operation and Jamaal (Lascelles) is still making progress to come back.
“Anthony is suspended but, apart from that, we hope to have a full squad. Genuinely, whenever I look at a team selection for any game, there's always decisions to make.
“That'll be no different for this game because you're always looking at the opposition and your own strengths and trying to figure out what players need to go up against certain players.
“So that's what we've done. We don't have a huge pool of players to select from - that's pretty obvious. We have a very tight squad and in some senses that can help you in different moments and that can also be a negative.”
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