Arne Slot’s side are sitting top of the Premier League and Champions League standings, having only lost one game so far this season, but have done so without some key players at key moments.Diogo Jota started the season as Slot’s first-choice striker but his tendency to pick up small injuries and knocks has seen him sitting out of the picture recently as well.
Harvey Elliott was thought to be one of the players who could benefit most from Slot’s arrival at the club, but an injury has left him out for most of the season as well.Slot, like most managers, will have been watching the international break through his hands as players put themselves on the line and risk injuries in games that are out of his control.
And a bad tackle on one Liverpool player last night could spell trouble in the immediate future.
Alexis Mac Allister started for Argentina in their World Cup qualification match against Peru this week and played nearly the entire game.
However, he was substituted off late in the game following a tackle from Peru defender Carlos Zambrano.According to Argentinian outlet TyC Sport, it was a “tremendous kick” that targeted the Liverpool midfielder’s left ankle.
Zambrano was embroiled in controversy during the game, and was involved in an argument with Lionel Messi just before his bad tackle on Mac Allister.Messi and his Argentinian teammates were angry with Zambrano throughout the game, calling him an “idiot”.
While there has been no official update from the club on Mac Allister’s fitness, it’s more than likely now that he will miss this weekend’s Premier League return against Southampton.
Slot prefers to rest players who have travelled far during the international break, especially those like Mac Allister, Luis Diaz and Darwin Nunez who fly back from South America with little recovery time.
It’s likely that even without being taken off, Mac Allister would have been on the bench for the Southampton game, but with a visit from Real Madrid on the horizon as well as a huge clash against Man City, Slot will be hoping that Mac Allister is fully fit.
