Liverpool’s Premier League title bid has suffered a new injury blow with Trent Alexander-Arnold set to be sidelined until mid-February with a knee ligament tear.
The 25-year-old has undergone a scan to assess the full extent of the damage sustained while playing in Sunday’s FA Cup third round win against Arsenal at the Emirates.
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But with manager Jurgen Klopp already without several first-team players due to injury, and Mohamed Salah and Wataru Endo away for up to six weeks at the Africa Cup of Nations and Asian Cup respectively, Alexander-Arnold’s setback will further deplete Liverpool’s squad as they attempt to maintain their lead at the top of the Premier League and reach the Carabao Cup final.
Liverpool face Fulham in the semifinal first-leg at Anfield on Wednesday.
“Trent hyperextended his knee during the last game,” Liverpool assistant-manager Pep Lijnders told Liverpool’s website. “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.
“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.”
Alexander-Arnold’s injury means that Liverpool will be without their first-choice full-back due to left-back Andy Robertson still be sidelined as a result of shoulder surgery last October.
But Lijnders said that the Scotland international is close to a return to action, as is understudy Kostas Tsimikas following his broken collarbone injury.
“Robbo [Robertson], he’s almost at the three-month mark, so he will get checked by the surgeon,” Lijnders said. “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.
“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.”