Liverpool and Newcastle United will both have key players absent for their League Cup final showdown at Wembley on Sunday afternoon
It was the news Liverpool supporters had feared but were probably expecting. And Arne Slot confirmed on Friday that Trent Alexander-Arnold had become the latest player to miss out on the League Cup final against Newcastle United at Wembley on Sunday afternoon.
While the Reds are still waiting to ascertain the extent of the ankle injury suffered by Alexander-Arnold in the Champions League defeat to Paris Saint-Germain on Tuesday, it will be sufficient to keep the right-back out for a number of weeks.
His absence gives Liverpool boss Slot a headache at right-back given both Conor Bradley and Joe Gomez were already ruled out of the showpiece occasion.
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Bradley has been missing since injuring his hamstring late on in the Premier League draw at Aston Villa in February, while Gomez is recovering from surgery after aggravating a hamstring problem in the FA Cup defeat at Plymouth Argyle last month on his return following six weeks out.
With Tyler Morton - who featured in the early rounds of the League Cup - likely to have ended his season prematurely due to a shoulder operation, Liverpool will be without four players.
And Newcastle are in a similar situation. Anthony Gordon is suspended after receiving a three-match ban following his red card for striking out at Brighton defender Jan Paul van Hecke during the Magpies' 2-1 home FA Cup fifth round defeat earlier this month.
The Magpies are also without Lewis Hall, who is out for the remainder of the season after surgery on a foot injury. Centre-back Sven Botman remains sidelined with a knee problem, while Newcastle continue to be without captain Jamaal Lascelles, who tore his ACL last March.