Liverpool have been handed an important injury boost with Trent Alexander-Arnold avoiding a lengthy spell on the sidelines.
The influential right-back started as usual for Arne Slot’s in-form Reds in their high-profile Premier League home clash with Aston Villa on Saturday night, but lasted just 25 minutes at Anfield before appearing to suffer a hamstring issue as he was replaced by Conor Bradley.
Alexander-Arnold signalled himself that he needed to go off, with Liverpool boss Slot admitting after a 2-0 victory on Merseyside sealed courtesy of goals from Darwin Nunez and Mohamed Salah that sent them five points clear at the top-flight summit that was not a good sign as he cast doubt on his vice-captain playing any part for England this week.
“It's difficult to say how serious it is, but it's always serious if a player goes out in the first half,” Slot said. “Not because I didn't like him, but because he asked for it himself.
"He didn't ask for it because he was tired, he asked for it because he felt something. That's first of all not a good sign, but it is always difficult so close after the game to tell you exactly what it is. Let's wait and see.
"I would be surprised if we will see him playing for the England national team this week, but hopefully he can."
However, Liverpool have been left breathing a sigh of relief with widespread reports on Monday claiming that Alexander-Arnold has avoided serious injury and is only expected to be sidelined for a couple of weeks.
The 26-year-old will still withdraw from Lee Carsley’s final England squad for the Nations League double-header against Greece and the Republic of Ireland this week, but may not miss any time at all for Liverpool with just under a fortnight until they return to league action away against struggling Southampton at St Mary’s on November 24.
Slot will be particularly eager to have such a pivotal player back fully fit for the visit of holders Real Madrid to Anfield in the Champions League on November 27 - a match that is swiftly followed four days later by a huge showdown at home to Manchester City.
It remains to be seen if any of Liverpool’s other current injury absentees will be fit for that crucial double-header, with the likes of Alisson Becker, Diogo Jota, Federico Chiesa and Harvey Elliott all sidelined at present.
