Liverpool are preparing to host Southampton in the Premier League on Sunday and Arne Slot has ruled out a “world-class player out of the game.
The Reds head to St Mary’s Stadium full of confidence and looking to stay at least five points clear come the end of the weekend action.
There are injuries for Liverpool to contend with, however, and speaking to the press on Friday [via This Is Anfield], Slot provided an update on several players, confirming that Trent Alexander-Arnold would play no part this weekend:
“Virgil is all good. He’s training with us today. Trent isn’t training with us yet but he’s getting there, so we expect him to be back with us soon.
“Harvey is training with us again, that’s the positive thing. He’s been out for many weeks, but he’s on the training ground again with the team. That’s a positive thing for him. Jota is still apart from the group, same as Federico who is coming back into the session maybe for one exercise today.
“They are all expected to be back within now and a few weeks, but the last part of recovery is always the most difficult one. Let’s wait and see, but Virgil is completely OK.”
Our thoughts on Trent missing the Southampton game…
Not having a player of Alexander-Arnold’s ability available this weekend is an undoubted setback for Liverpool, with Gary Neville describing him as “world-class”.
That said, the Reds now have an excellent and proven deputy in Conor Bradley, who has the ability to fill in and offer his own quality from right-back.
With all due respect to Southampton, this should also be less of a challenge than the upcoming home games against Real Madrid and Manchester City, both of which Alexander-Arnold will hopefully be available for.
That’s not to say that Saints should be taken for granted, but this is a bottom against top Premier League clash that the vast majority of neutral supporters will be expecting Liverpool to win.
Failure to do so would be a big blow, especially with tougher games on the horizon in the coming weeks, including trips to Newcastle United and Everton.
