Arne Slot says Liverpool are looking into Alisson’s fitness issues and the head coach has urged a rethink over fixture scheduling.
The Brazil international goalkeeper has been ruled out until after the November international break due to the hamstring injury he suffered in the win over Crystal Palace earlier this month.
32-year-old Alisson also missed 10 league matches last season with similar problems. Caoimhin Kelleher is set to deputise once again — starting with Sunday’s visit of Chelsea to Anfield.
“For me it’s common because the goalkeeper I had at Feyenoord also had issues with muscle injuries, but it’s not what you see a lot. They are the exception,” Slot said.
“Yeah, we are looking into what could be the reason. One of the things we all know is that if you have one then the chances of getting another one always go up. We have tried to be really careful with him.”
The Dutch coach suggested that the schedule could have contributed to Alisson breaking down given that Liverpool faced Palace in a 12:30pm Saturday kick-off having defeated Bologna in the Champions League on the previous Wednesday night.
“Before the (Palace) game I said I don’t mind the 12:30pm kick-off and that’s still what I think. We train at that same time,” he explained.
“But what might be something for the English FA to think about is that if you play on Wednesday evening in the Champions League then to play Saturday 12:30 might be a disadvantage when it comes to injuries.
“The time 12:30 is no problem at all but playing so soon after Wednesday evening should be taken into consideration. In retrospect I might have picked Caoimhin rather than Alisson, but you don’t expect a keeper to pick up a muscle injury.
“What’s very good in Holland is that I’m 99.9 per cent sure that teams who play Champions League in the upcoming week get extra rest and don’t play on a Sunday. That’s not common here in England.”
Slot revealed that Liverpool have other fitness concerns ahead of Sunday with the full squad only reconvening at Kirkby on Friday following the return of Alexis Mac Allister, Luis Diaz and Darwin Nunez from South America.
“We have a few issues with players coming back from their international teams and we can only judge that perfectly later today as it will be the first time they are all in and all training together,” he said. “We will see after the session where everyone is.”
Virgil van Dijk benefited from some time off after being suspended for the Netherlands’ game against Germany with Slot leaping to his defence after the Liverpool captain was criticised in his homeland for not staying with the Dutch squad.
“If you come from Holland you know the Dutch media are all about criticism,” he added.
“If there’s a chance to criticise, they will find a way. I don’t think he deserved it. It’s completely normal that you have a few days off with the way the schedule is. “Virgil has been crucial for us. You can see how good he is in defence and how much he contributes to our play, but what you don’t see is how important he is on the training pitch. He’s always the one who is the most loud, bringing a lot of energy and quality into our sessions. He’s definitely our leader.”
(John Powell/Liverpool FC via Getty Images)
