Jurgen Klopp took to his pre-match press conference today to confirm that Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson Becker will be out for a short period to recover from an injury picked up in the clash with Manchester City last weekend.
Liverpool will host LASK at Anfield on Thursday evening and there has been a lot of concern around the fitness of a number of players after taking a point away from the Etihad on Saturday.
There are a large number of fixtures coming up ahead of the Christmas period and the Liverpool boss will be hoping that his squad can cope with the demands of the schedule over the next few weeks.
It was Alisson’s injury suffered in the closing minutes of the Premier League clash that has been the biggest cause of concern amongst Liverpool supporters this week, and The Evening Standard even claimed the keeper could be out for up to six weeks.
Now Klopp has given a promising update on Alisson’s injury and the time frame we can expect to see him absent in his pre-match press conference this afternoon.
The German coach gave a reassuring response when asked about the Brazil international’s condition alongside his teammate Diogo Jota who has also picked up an injury:
“Both are out,”
“With Ali it’s a bit lesser, so we have to see – not day by day, he will not play tomorrow, not on Sunday, probably not the week after. Then it should be kind of OK.”
Klopp then elaborated as to whether Alisson’s injury specifically is not as bad as initially feared, adding: “No, but bad enough. Bad enough.”
Will Alisson be fit for Manchester United?
There is no doubt that losing Alisson will be a massive blow for Liverpool in their pursuit to keep up their title challenge in the Premier League as there is a real opportunity to get ahead and collect as many points as possible before Christmas.
Following LASK, the Reds will face Fulham, Sheffield United and Crystal Palace in the Premier League and will also fit in their final Europa League group stage game against Union Saint-Golloise in between.
It is predicted that Alisson should be back in time to face Manchester United, West Ham United and Arsenal at Anfield if Klopp’s estimation is correct, which would be the absolute perfect time for the Brazilian to return to action.
Klopp will now need to lean on Caoimhin Kelleher tomorrow evening as Adrian was not included in the Europa League squad at the beginning of the campaign, however, the Liverpool boss could potentially switch between the two over the coming fixtures considering the amount of football that is to be played in the next fortnight.
With that being said, although Alisson will be a huge miss for the Reds it is much better news than originally anticipated and when looking at the upcoming fixtures, a competent second keeper like Kelleher should have enough experience to handle the upcoming opponents.
