Trent Alexander-Arnold is facing a race to be ready for Liverpool’s title showdown at Manchester City after he suffered hamstring damage.
It is a huge blow for both Jurgen Klopp and Gareth Southgate, who will now be without the right-back for England’s friendlies against Switzerland and Cote D’Ivore, and Liverpool’s manager said the issue will keep Alexander-Arnold sidelined for “weeks”.
To make matters worse for Southgate, Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel cast doubt on Reece James’s availability for the squad. The England head coach will now call up a replacement after the weekend, with Leicester’s James Justin and Southampton’s Kyle Walker-Peters being considered.
Trent Alexander-Arnold is facing a race to be ready for Liverpool’s title showdown at Man City
The 23-year-old will be unable to meet up with Gareth Southgate’s (left) upcoming squad
Alexander-Arnold has been in outstanding form recently but it emerged after Wednesday’s 2-0 win at Arsenal he was hurt and further tests on Merseyside indicated the full extent of the issue, leaving Klopp with his own selection dilemma ahead of Sunday’s trip to Nottingham Forest.
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Aside from the FA Cup quarter-final at The City Ground and the two Wembley friendlies, the 23-year-old – who has contributed 16 assists so far this season – looks set to miss Liverpool’s Premier League return on April 2 against Watford.
He is also unlikely to make the Champions League quarter-final first leg against Benfica; Liverpool are odds-on to set up a semi-final clash against Bayern Munich or Villarreal but Klopp insisted it would be “the first mistake” if his team looked one step further.
Klopp said he picked up the injury during Liverpool’s Premier League clash with Arsenal
‘The only thing I didn’t want in this draw was another English team,’ Klopp added. ‘I know people will say we are favourites but we are too long in the business to make those mistakes.’
After Benfica, Liverpool then face a trip to the Etihad on April 10 that many believe will determine who wins the title and Klopp – who may call up Connor Bradly to replace Alexander-Arnold against Forest – did not attempt to hide the significance of the news.
‘We will see how long it will take but, of course, to replace Trent is difficult but possible,’ said Klopp. ‘We always did it. We have Joey (Gomez). Theoretically we can change the system as well. These kinds of things. So we have a couple of options, but you are right he is very influential.
The Liverpool boss may call up Connor Bradly to replace Alexander-Arnold against Forest
‘If you look in the past when James Milner had to step in, he did incredibly well. He just has to be available (after illness) and then that is fine. I don’t know if he will be ready for Sunday. Maybe we have a very young solution as well.
‘The way he [Alexander-Arnold] plays, I don’t know any player who plays like Trent in the world. So it will be difficult to find a one versus one replacement.’ Klopp would be delighted to re-introduce Gomez to his team at the City Ground after what has been a challenging season in terms of starting opportunities and he said: ‘He is top class player not an inch worse than all the other three central defenders who are playing.
‘But the other three have rhythm because they have played more often. That’s the problem we have but for a club with aims and ambitions we have it can happen. It will not last forever but so fat it happened like this. And the next game would be a good opportunity for him – that’s true.’