Arne Slot has revealed Alisson missed Wednesday’s Merseyside derby due Liverpool following the correct concussion protocols.
The goalkeeper was seen back in training earlier this week and it was presumed he would be available to face Everton at Anfield. However, Alisson was a surprise dropout from the starting XI ahead of the game, with Caoimhin Kelleher starting in his place.
Explaining his decision, Slot told Sky Sports: “We as a club follow the protocol and he had to tick all the boxes and yesterday he didn’t tick the last box, so that means he cannot start.
“The good thing for us is we’ve got Caoimhin Kelleher, who has shown many times this season and in previous seasons that he’s maybe even too good to be Ali’s back-up.”
Alisson suffered a head injury when representing Brazil against Colombia during the recent international break. The FA’s concussion guidelines state players can train within a few days of suffering a major head injury but shouldn’t play for three weeks. It’s less than two weeks since Alisson picked up the injury, meaning he is a doubt to face Fulham in the Premier League on Sunday as well.
Kelleher was one of two shock selections in Liverpool’s starting line-up, with Curtis Jones replacing Jarell Quansah. Asked if the former will play at right-back in the derby, Slot replied: “Yes, he is. We are missing three right full-backs at the moment. Trent [Alexander-Arnold] is injured, Conor [Bradley] is not ready to play and Joe Gomez is injured as well.
“Jarell played there in the [Carabao] Cup final, but today it is going to be Curtis.”
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Liverpool’s clash against Everton is the first match since the disappointing cup defeats against Paris Saint-Germain and Newcastle United three weeks ago.
Asked if the derby was the perfect game to return with, Slot replied: “It’s always nice to play a home game, even more so if it’s an evening game. We are looking forward to it but there were also parts of the season when Everton were not on a streak of nine games in a row without a loss. If you look at it in that perspective, it might be the ideal opponents.
“But we are looking forward to the game, the fans are looking forward to the game. There are nine games to go and we have to take it one game at a time.”
Liverpool will look to restore its 12-point advantage at the top of the league against Everton, following Arsenal victory over Fulham the previous day.
