Liverpool head coach Arne Slot has received a timeline for Trent Alexander-Arnold’s return from injury as he looks set to come back before the end of the season.
With the Reds currently 12 points in front of nearest challengers Arsenal at the Premier League summit, it looks almost certain that the Merseysiders will clinch the title in the remaining nine games of the campaign. With neighbors Everton set to visit Anfield in midweek, Liverpool will be tasked with with putting recent defeats against PSG and Newcastle behind them.
The job for the current top flight frontrunners is simple – earn 16 points from the remaining 27 on offer and they will be crowned champions. As the business end of the campaign approaches, Slot received a major boost as Ryan Gravenberch and Alisson Becker – who had their involvement in the March internationals curtailed due to injury – trained on Monday.
However, the Reds will have to do without vice-captain Alexander-Arnold for the Merseyside Derby as he continues his rehabilitation from an ankle injury sustained in the second leg loss in the last-16 of the Champions League versus PSG. Amid the ongoing speculation over the full-back’s future with his boyhood club, he is expected to be out of action until the end of April, according to the Athletic.
Therefore, that timeline would enable the defender to play some part in the run-in to the season in what could well prove to be his final season at Anfield. Pertinently, this would also mean that the 26-year-old could be available to take part in the final four games of the term against Chelsea, Arsenal, Brighton and Crystal Palace.
Slot said of the defender’s injury status on March 14: “So, Trent is indeed not available. He will not be there at the final. He is still to be assessed for how long it’s going to take, but we do expect him back in the end of the season.”
As it stands, Slot is juggling something of a mini injury crisis at right-back, with understudy Conor Bradley also having been consigned to the sidelines since February. The above report contends that the Northern Irishman is continuing his recovery from the hamstring injury he picked up in a draw against Aston Villa earlier in the season.
Slot confirmed on March 18: “He’s frustrated, but his initial frustration has kind of subsided a little bit, and his focus is on trying to get fit for the end of the season, and Conor is very diligent on that side of things. He will do everything possible to get fit and follow Liverpool’s guidance.”
In addition, Joe Gomez is also stepping up his efforts to return from his own hamstring issue before the end of the campaign. The report suggests that the England international is back running on the grass at AXA Training Center in recent times.
Back in February, Slot said of the former Charlton man’s fight for fitness: “Joe had surgery for his hamstring injury, so he’s out for a long time. He will be back maybe just before the end of the season.”
In the absence of Liverpool’s three preferred options at right-back, Jarell Quansah being used in an unfamiliar role as an auxiliary full-back currently. Both Bradley and Gomez should be back to full fitness by the start of May, meaning they will be able to play a part in the run-in to the season too.
