Injury woes have left Liverpool boss Arne Slot short of options ahead of the upcoming Merseyside Derby against Everton. Arne Slot’s squad will welcome their rivals to Anfield on Wednesday, following a 16-day hiatus since their Carabao Cup final loss to Newcastle.
The international break has provided Liverpool ample time to reflect on their 2-1 defeat at Wembley and refocus their efforts on one primary goal: clinching the Premier League title. The Reds currently enjoy a 12-point lead over second-placed Arsenal, with nine games left.
The visit of Everton comes just 49 days after the previous Merseyside Derby, where James Tarkowski netted a dramatic injury-time equalizer at Goodison Park. The international break has been relatively uneventful for Slot, who is likely to have both Alisson Becker and Ryan Gravenberch fit for selection, despite their early departures from their respective national teams.
Alisson suffered a concussion during Brazil’s match against Colombia and was subsequently ruled out of the team’s second World Cup qualifier. However, the goalkeeper has been evaluated by Liverpool’s medical team and is anticipated to be ready to start against Everton.
Gravenberch withdrew from the Netherlands squad due to a minor issue but should also be available for the Everton game. There is, however, a glaring problem for Slot to tackle at right-back, with Trent Alexander-Arnold (ankle) and Conor Bradley and Joe Gomez (both hamstring) sidelined due to injuries.
Trent Alexander-Arnold’s injury during the 1-0 loss to Paris Saint-Germain on March 11 saw him sidelined for England’s victories over Albania and Latvia. Expected back later in April, his absence, alongside that of understudy Bradley and fellow right-back Gomez, could pave the way for Jarell Quansah to step up. The Reds are also without Tyler Morton.
David Moyes has his own fitness worries with left-back Vitalii Mykolenko sustaining a thigh injury during international duty with Ukraine. Withdrawn from Ukraine’s 3-0 Nations League defeat by Belgium, Misfortune struck as Mykolenko hobbled off, prompting head coach Serhiy Rebrov to comment sombrely after the match.
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“Unfortunately, he has an injury. He will do an MRI,” revealed Rebrov. “We’ll see. I know Vitalii. If he didn’t continue playing, then the injury was really serious.”
Moyes spoke on March 19 about the recovery timeline of Dwight McNeil, Illiman Ndiaye and Dominic Calvert-Lewin, admitting, “I don’t think we’re necessarily going to have any of them back after the [international] break.
McNeil has been out of action since December following a knee issue sustained in a 4-0 triumph against Wolves, while Ndiaye is recovering from medial ligament damage endured during the much-anticipated derby.
Both players have since resumed training, but Calvert-Lewin remains sidelined with a thigh injury and midfielder Orel Mangala is ruled out due to an anterior cruciate ligament injury.
