Arne Slot has confirmed Trent Alexander-Arnold will miss the Carabao Cup final against Newcastle United.
The England right-back was forced off during Liverpool’s Champions League last-16 tie against Paris Saint-Germain on Tuesday night.
Alexander-Arnold hobbled off midway through the second half and was replaced by Jarell Quansah as Liverpool lost on penalties to exit the Champions League before the quarter-finals.
Slot admitted after the heartbreaking loss that Alexander-Arnold was a serious injury doubt for Sunday’s Carabao Cup final against Newcastle.
Liverpool travel to Wembley this weekend aiming to lift their first trophy under Slot, who replaced legendary manager Jurgen Klopp at Anfield last summer.
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Speaking at his pre-match press conference on Friday morning, Slot confirmed Alexander-Arnold would miss the ultimate, though he ‘expects’ the 26-year-old to return before the top of the season.
Liverpool fans were fearing that Alexander-Arnold had played his last game for the club following his injury blow as he has been heavily linked with a summer move to Real Madrid.
‘Trent is indeed not available,’ Slot said at his pre-match press conference. ‘He won’t be there at the ultimate.
‘We’re assessing him to see when he might be back. We do expect him to be back before the top of the injury.’
One other Liverpool defender, Ibrahima Konate, was also subbed off throughout the defeat to PSG in midweek.
Slot said the Frenchman has not trained since that game but could return to the training pitch on Friday to check his fitness ahead of the ultimate.
‘I expect him to coach with us today but we are going to see how he’s,’ Slot said in a reasonably unconvincing injury update.
While Slot might be without Alexander-Arnold – and potentially Konate – Newcastle boss Eddie Howe has been busy making a game-plan to manage along with his absences.
England winger Anthony Gordon is suspended following his careless red card within the FA Cup defeat to Brighton, while Lewis Hall and Sven Botman are each recovering from injury setbacks.
‘Lewis Hall and Sven Botman are recovering after their operations, Anthony is suspended, but aside from that we hope to have the total squad,’ Howe said at his press conference.
‘Preparation has been excellent. We’re positive. Our destiny is in our own hands. It’s about us delivering an amazing performance.
‘We’ve had a very tough run within the Carabao Cup, we now have gone from round to round. There was lots less noise and emotion and hopefully that helps us in our performance in our game.
‘We now have been very much focused on our game plan. We’re very positive.’
On the team he’ll pick to face Liverpool, Howe added: ‘There are at all times decisions to make, that might be no different for this game.
‘We don’t have an enormous pool of players, we now have a really tight squad, we’re in an excellent place after the win on Monday night and that was a giant thing for us.
‘The players are in an excellent place. Everyone desires to play in these larger games.’
Howe also urged Newcastle’s passionate fanbase to ‘push the team over the road’ as they chase their first major trophy since 1969.
‘They at all times are behind us, we all know from the last time we got to the ultimate, the sensation of support and unity,’ he said.
‘We’re absolutely going to want them; we’d like every little bit of help we will to push ourselves over the road.’
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