09 January 2024 , 13:34
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Liverpool have suffered an injury blow on the eve of their Carabao Cup semi-final - with Trent Alexander-Arnold picking up a knee injury.
The Reds will be without the full-back for the clash against Fulham at Anfield on Wednesday night. Liverpool medical staff are still waiting to see the full extent of the injury, but he’s definitely out of the cup game and could miss up to three weeks of football.
Jurgen Klopp's side travel to Bournemouth in the Premier League on January 20 before the second leg of their Carabao Cup semi-final four days later at Craven Cottage. They’ve then got an FA Cup fourth round clash with Norwich or Bristol Rovers before they return to Premier League action against Chelsea on Merseyside at the end of the month.
"First of all, some not-that-good news, Trent hyperextended his knee during the last game," Liverpool's assistant manager Pep Lijnders confirmed at a press conference on Tuesday. "So he has a little tear in the lateral ligament of his knee and he will need time to recover. He had a scan and he will be out for a few weeks, so let's see after that.
"He will get some rest and then hopefully he can come back to where he was. Because this guy was decisive in all the games and was the one who created constantly for us from deep and gave the team a high level of flexibility. We will really miss him."
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Yet Liverpool will have their skipper Virgil van Dijk available on Wednesday after he missed the victory against Arsenal with an illness. Lijnders added: "Virgil is back. He did some runs yesterday on the pitch, looked good again. So he will be back in the squad, he recovered well. So it really helped him not to travel to London."
Dominik Szoboszlai will not feature against Fulham due to his hamstring injury, while Andy Robertson (shoulder) and Kostas Tsimikas (collarbone) are edging closer to full fitness. Linjnders continued: "Dom is progressing well on the pitch, he's running, so let's see.
"Not available for tomorrow. And then we have Robbo, he's almost at the three-month mark, so he will get checked by the surgeon. And if he does that scan and we see everything (so) that we can really progress him, he will go to Dubai for a week to do proper volume sessions, proper sessions, so that will be good for him. Then we see the three-month-mark scan and then we can see how quick he can go into contact again.
Virgil van Dijk is fit and ready to face Fulham (Getty Images)How much will Liverpool miss Trent Alexander-Arnold? Let us know in the comments below!
"Same for Kostas. Kostas is progressing really well, really quick. So hopefully both of them - Robbo and Kostas - will be back at the end of this month to train with the team."
Stefan Bajcetic (calf) and Thiago Alcantara (hip) are also still absent. Lijnders noted: "They will not be ready for the end of this month. It will probably be going into the next month to train with us. But both (with) no complications, progressing."
Joel Matip, who underwent surgery on a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament injury in December, will not play again this season. Wataru Endo is competing at the Asian Cup with Japan, while Mohamed Salah is trying to win the Africa Cup of Nations with Egypt.