Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has ruled Alexis McAllister injury-free in Wednesday’s 4-1 Premier League win over Chelsea. The Argentina international injured his knee after colliding with Chelsea’s Cesare Casadei in the second half at Anfield.
Klopp was concerned as McAllister remained on the pitch recovering, but the hosts named five substitutes in the meantime. As a result, Mc Allister was ruled out for the rest of the game after going down on the touchline and his knock sparked fears over his inclusion in Sunday’s clash with Arsenal.
Discussing the state of the squad in his post-match press conference, Klopp admitted the players were “absolutely hurt” in the dressing room, but dismissed McAllister’s concerns that it was just a contact injury.
Coach Klopp said: “The next game is in four days and when I look at the dressing room I’m so tired I don’t know who will be able to play again.” “Kline is here, Macka (Alexis McAllister) is on his knees, knees, knees, that kind of thing. Nothing major.
At least no one has told me yet. So everything is good. “We need them all. And it doesn’t matter. It just has. And I’m glad they all managed to handle it the way they did. “The next big game is against Arsenal, let’s bounce back and start again,” he said.
Liverpool will be without Mohamed Salah (muscle), Ben Doak (knee), Joel Matip (knee), Stefan Vaicetic (calf), Kostas Tsimikas (neck) and Thiago Alcantara (fitness) for the trip to the Emirates, while Wataru Endo is missing, do not participate.
They are leading Japan in the Asian Cup. Recently returned Trent Alexander-Arnold and Andrew Robertson also missed starts on Wednesday night, with Connor Bradley providing a goal and two assists to Diogo Iota and Dominic Szoboslai, while Luis Diaz added a fourth owner.
Bradley’s impressive performances have left Klopp with an interesting selection dilemma ahead of Sunday’s game against Arsenal. Especially after Alexander-Arnold’s key contribution to the FA Cup win at the Emirates last month.
Klopp hailed the ability of the club’s academy to guide Liverpool through a tough winter schedule but refused to call the Bradley-Alexander-Arnold dilemma a “good situation”.
“No, that’s right. We finally realized that we played 7 games in January with 11 days off. I don’t know how we did it, but we were supposed to start on January 1st. “We wouldn’t have been able to compile the set of results we got without the boys,” added Klopp.
“Without [Jarrell] Cuanza, we have no chance. We have no left back, no Trent, no midfielder. [Sunday] I played against James McConnell at 6 and he played really well. So these kids took advantage of the situation, and in an ideal world, that’s exactly what should happen.
“Liverpool’s win over Mauricio Pochettino’s side restored their five-point lead over Arsenal and Manchester City at the Premier League summit, with the latter having a game in hand.
