Alisson Becker’s participation in Liverpool’s game against Bournemouth is questionable due to injury, coach Arne Slot said on Friday.
The Brazilian international has started all four of Liverpool’s Premier League matches this season, keeping three clean sheets, and was also involved in the Merseyside club’s 3-1 win over AC Milan in the Champions League on Tuesday.
However, Slot clarified that Alisson’s injury had already occurred before the midweek game at San Siro.
“It is still questionable whether Alisson can train today. We have to wait and see,” Slot said at a press conference on Friday.
“He has a small problem with one of his muscles. We are wondering whether the game tomorrow will come too early or not,” he added.
“He didn’t do it in the game against Milan, he felt it before and then more and more. Now we have to see if he is ready for the weekend.”
In the run-up to the Champions League opening match, Alisson had criticised the increasing workload of footballers and said: “Nobody asks the players what they think about adding more games.”
When Slot, who moved from Feyenoord to Liverpool in the summer, was asked about the differences between the football calendars in the Netherlands and England, he said: “So far I have not noticed any differences, but the Premier League has four extra games and the League Cup. From the beginning until now we have played just as many games as Feyenoord – that is not a problem for me.”
“But the main difference between the Premier League and Europe is that we have to play over Christmas and New Year. The quality of the league, of (Nottingham) Forest and Bournemouth, is much, much higher than when you play in the Eredivisie against a team that is not fighting for the top six.”
“We think about what’s coming and we realize it’s a long season. We need a lot of players, so they need playing time every now and then and we take that into account when we line up.”
One player who has struggled to get playing time for Liverpool this season is Darwin Núñez, who has yet to start or score for the club this season. However, Slot was encouraged by his performance as a substitute against Milan and said he expects the Uruguay international to still score goals.
“He has to do the same as everyone else: work really hard and then the goals will come. That’s what he did against Milan. He came on for the team and then the attackers got goals or assists as a result. That’s what happened with Cody (Gakpo). So when you play for a team like Liverpool, you get them,” he said.
“For me it’s the work you do without the ball. He will get his chance in the near future, we play a lot of games, he is getting fitter and day by day he understands what we want from him. But he is in competition with Diogo (Jota), who has done a good job.”
