Arne Slot has revealed that Alexis Mac Allister was not deemed fit enough to take part in Liverpool’s 3-2 win at Newcastle having pulled out of training last week.
Mac Allister played 72 minutes of the opening game of the campaign but, after missing almost three months of action prior to his late return for pre-season, he was not in the squad against Newcastle.
This has now been explained as being due to a fitness issue, with the Argentine unable to train properly in the buildup.
Slot is now left hoping his No. 10 can get back up to speed in time for the visit of Arsenal in the final game before the international break on Sunday.
“He had to leave the training pitch two days ago,” Slot told reporters at St James’ Park.
“And that would not even be the biggest problem if he had a proper pre-season, but he missed out for so many weeks.
“There’s a reason why you go inside, because you probably feel something.
“That is a difficult balance to find with players that are out for so long in pre-season, because there you bring the base for the whole season.
“And you can see these intensity levels, like we faced last week and [Newcastle] stepped it up 10 times I think, then you need to be so, so, so fit.
LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND - Monday, August 4, 2025: Liverpool's Alexis Mac Allister during a pre-season friendly match between Liverpool FC and Athletic Bilbao at Anfield. (Photo by David Rawcliffe/Propaganda)
“Then it’s also a risk if you bring a player that had a pre-season like this, had to go out two days ago in a training session, in this environment.
“With such a long season to go that was too much of a risk for me, but I’m hoping, hoping things improve in the next one or two days, so that’s he’s available for Sunday.”
Though at face value it does not appear to be a major issue for Mac Allister, there will be a lingering doubt given his injury problems since the end of last season.
It is unlikely he will be considered to start against Arsenal, meaning Slot could face a decision over whether to shift Dominik Szoboszlai back into midfield if Conor Bradley is fit enough to start at right-back.