- Liverpool boss Slot has given a worrying injury update on goalkeeper Alisson
- The Brazilian went down holding his hamstring and had to be substituted
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Liverpool boss Arne Slot fears number 1 Alisson Becker will miss his side’s match against Chelsea, at least because the goalkeeper suffered his latest hamstring injury.
The Brazilian goalkeeper limped off in the closing stages of his side’s victory at Crystal Palace and is expected to remain on Merseyside during the international break.
The Reds take on Chelsea once Premier League action begins, ahead of a Champions League visit to Red Bull Leipzig.
They face title rivals Arsenal on October 27.
And Slot – who also revealed midfielder Alexis Mac Allister was taken off at half-time due to a groin injury – believes Alisson will miss the match against Chelsea on October 20 as a bare minimum.
Alisson went down late in the second half against Crystal Palace with his hamstring in his hands
The Brazilian had recently worked his way back from a hamstring injury weeks earlier
Alisson had to be taken off the pitch and was comforted by some of his Liverpool teammates
“We don’t know (how bad it is), but if he walks away like he does, it means he won’t be in the Brazil squad and I don’t expect him to be in the team for the match after that,” Slot said .
“He’s the best goalkeeper in the world, so it’s a blow.”
Liverpool skipper Virgil van Dijk also offered a worrying update on Alisson.
“Alisson’s injury doesn’t look good,” said Van Dijk.
“It looks like a hamstring injury that he was already suffering from and was recovering from.”
Liverpool’s third-choice goalkeeper Vitezslav Jaros was the man who replaced Alisson in the 79th minute against Palace when regular back-up Caoimhin Kelleher was absent due to illness.
Jaros, who spent last season on loan at Austrian club Sturm Graz, did no harm to his chances of retaining his place when he made an important save to deny Eberechi Eze.
Slot said the 23-year-old was ‘really good’ and felt his cameo underlined the importance of a strong goalkeeping stable, especially with Jaros looking to move in the summer.
Jaros made a save with just a handful of minutes left in normal time to deny Eze
The 23-year-old was thrust into the match after Alisson’s injury but did not look out of place
Liverpool skipper Virgil van Dijk celebrates with the goalkeeper after the clean sheet
“He (Jaros) had a very good season last season,” Slot told TNT Sports.
“He won the league and he won the cup where he was in Austria. And he wanted to go. He wanted to go because he wanted to have playing time again.
‘But we said: ‘Listen, at a club like this we also need a very good third goalkeeper, and today we proved we were right.
‘And maybe it was a nice moment for him to make his debut for Liverpool.’
Slot will be hoping his medical staff can work their magic on Alisson as the Premier League pauses for the international break after Sunday.
Liverpool’s 1-0 win over Palace sent them top of the table after winning six of their seven league games.
