Reds blow with Trent set to miss five games
Knee injury rules star out of Wembley final
TRENT AlexanderArnold is set to miss Liverpool’s next five matches including the Carabao Cup final against Chelsea after a recurrence of a knee injury.
Alexander-Arnold was taken off in pain at half-time in Saturday’s win over Burnley, having missed most of January due to ligament damage in his knee.
Though no time frame has been put on his return, it is expected the Wembley final on February 25 will come too soon.
The big Premier League clash at home to Manchester City on March 10 is a more realistic target. Liverpool will then travel to Everton for the Merseyside derby the following weekend.
England boss Gareth Southgate will also be awaiting news, with his next squad due to be named in mid-March for friendlies against Brazil and Belgium.
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp also faces doubts over Dominik Szoboszlai and Thiago Alcantara for the Carabao Cup final, and Joel Matip is ruled out.
Conor Bradley and Joe Gomez will battle for Alexander-Arnold’s right back berth for Liverpool’s next Premier League game at Brentford on Saturday, and star man Mo Salah has returned to training after suffering a hamstring injury playing for Egypt at the Africa Cup of Nations.
Alexander-Arnold, 25, returned to action on January 27 after missing three weeks and Klopp tried to blood him in gently with two substitute appearances before giving him an hour in the 3-1 Premier League defeat at Arsenal.
But there were fears when the player failed to return for the second half against Burnley, with Klopp confirming: ‘He felt (discomfort) in the same area in the knee. He got it stuck in the grass.’
Following the trip to Brentford, Liverpool host Luton in the Premier League before their date at Wembley. They have an FA Cup fifth-round tie at home to Southampton at the end of the month and begin March at Nottingham Forest.