Liverpool full-back Trent Alexander-Arnold is set to miss four weeks with a knee injury, according to The Times journalist Paul Joyce.
The 20-year-old picked up a knock in the warm up for the Reds’ match against Brighton last weekend, but still managed to play the full 90 minutes.
It is now understood, however, that he will miss around a month of action because of the complaint.
In a tweet to his personal Twitter account, Joyce said: “Liverpool’s Trent Alexander-Arnold sidelined for around 4 weeks with knee injury.”
Liverpool's Trent Alexander-Arnold sidelined for around 4 weeks with knee injury. Georginio Wijnaldum also a doubt for Crystal Palace game with knee problem. @TimesSport
— paul joyce (@_pauljoyce) January 15, 2019
It is believed the prognosis is a minor ligament issue in the knee.
Alexander- Arnold’s absence compounds Liverpool’s defensive woes, and comes in the aftermath of Jurgen Klopp allowing Nathaniel Clyne to go out on loan to Bournemouth.
With Joe Gomez expected to be absent until February, it is thought that James Milner or Fabinho will fill in at right-back against Crystal Palace on Saturday.
OPINION
This is a massive blow for Jurgen Klopp and his Liverpool side. They say hindsight sees in 20/20, and if only the German could have foreseen this injury to his starting right-back, he surely would have never let Nathaniel Clyne go to Bournemouth on loan. It may not be a proper long term absence, and in James Milner he has a very capable deputy, but it could be exactly the kind of obstacle that disrupts the flow of his side, and with the intensity of this year’s title race, even the slightest hurdle could come back to bite his side. Alexander-Arnold has made that right-back position his own in recent times, and it’s testament to the development of the young man that this represents such an issue for his manager. That will be of little consolation to the England international if his side put together a poor run in his absence, however, and he will be hoping that he is back in no time.
