Liverpool boss Arne Slot is hopeful that Alisson Becker will be back in goal next weekend when the Reds take on West Ham United at Anfield in the Premier League.
Alisson was injured in Brazil’s first game of the international break when he hurt his head against Colombia. He sat out the second match for his national team — a 4-1 defeat against Argentina — and has missed two games at club level too.
In Alisson’s absence, Caoimhin Kelleher stepped in and kept a clean sheet in the Merseyside derby victory over Everton. He then had a tougher game — and was fortunate not to concede a penalty — against Fulham.
“There’s a week to go [until the next game] so it gives us a bit of time,” Slot told the BBC. “But you know, as Liverpool we always follow the protocol in moments like this when it’s a concussion. If you haven’t ticked all the boxes he can’t be in goal. He wants it a lot, but the protocol is the protocol.”
The FA’s concussion guidelines point to a 21-day period in which extra caution should be taken. This Saturday, the game before the West Ham game, will mark three weeks since Alisson’s head injury was sustained.
Alisson’s symptoms and individual case have to be taken into account and just because the three-week period has passed, that doesn’t mean he will return to competitive action. Liverpool will continue to show caution and no risks will be taken.
It is certainly possible, though, that Alisson could come back into the starting XI against West Ham. If he does, the defeat to Fulham might prove to be Kelleher’s last action for Liverpool if he makes a move away from Anfield during the summer window.
Last summer, he made it clear that he wants to be a number one and his minutes have been limited this season. Giorgi Mamardashvili, the Georgian goalkeeper, will be arriving from Valencia.
“I’ve made it clear in the last few years that I want to go and be a number one and play week in, week out,” Kelleher said during the September internationals. “The club’s made that decision to get another goalkeeper and from the outside looking in, it looks like they’ve made a decision to go in a different direction.”
Liverpool.com says: Alisson is the best in the world in his position and while the defensive frailties on show against Fulham might have happened anyway, they would have been less likely had the Brazilian been there. He adds an element of calm at the back and might have been able to help out those in front of him who seemed to be panicking.
