HEART BREAKING NEWS: List of players that will not be away afer the international break. Liverpool fresh injury setbacks have given Arne Slot a big Concern

 

HEART BREAKING NEWS: List of players that will not be away afer the international break. Liverpool fresh injury setbacks have given Arne Slot a big Concern

Liverpool have once again been struck by the curse of the international break and Arne Slot will have to juggle his resources

 

SPORT

Ian Doyle Chief Liverpool FC Writer

17:33, 11 Sep 2024

 

Arne Slot on the Liverpool touchline during a Premier League game

Liverpool head coach Arne Slot(Image: Dave Howarth – CameraSport via Getty Images)

New boss, same old problem. So continues Liverpool’s ongoing lament regarding injuries during the international break.

 

Harvey Elliott became the latest to be affected when he suffered a fitness setback almost immediately after joining up with England under-21s for their games against Northern Ireland and Austria over the past week. Returning to Liverpool, tests discovered a fractured foot with Elliott now facing up to six weeks on the sidelines.

 

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Given the schedule will now intensify significantly for the Reds with Saturday’s visit of Nottingham Forest the first of seven games in 22 days, new head coach Arne Slot can ill afford to be without players to whom he is likely to start relying upon.

 

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Elliott, though, isn’t the only concern. Alexis Mac Allister was troubled by an adductor issue throughout his spell with Argentina over the past 10 days and managed only the final 26 minutes from the bench in the 2-1 World Cup qualifying loss at Colombia on Tuesday.

 

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The midfielder failed to train properly for much of the break and must be considered an early doubt to start against Forest this weekend.

 

The international break has also tested the growing momentum of both Ibrahima Konate and Dominik Szoboszlai. Konate suffered a difficult time when starting France’s 3-1 home UEFA Nations League defeat to Italy and then failed to feature in the win over Belgium a few days later.

 

Szoboszlai, meanwhile, was in the Hungary side thumped 5-0 by Germany. The midfielder, however, has already spoken about refusing to be overly affected by the outcome.

 

By contrast, the last week has been particularly encouraging in maintaining the good early-season form of three Liverpool players. Luis Diaz scored for Colombia in their 1-1 World Cup qualifying draw at Peru and then featured in the win over Argentina, while Trent Alexander-Arnold was influential in England’s UEFA Nations League victories over the Republic of Ireland and Finland.

 

And Ryan Gravenberch shone in his new position as a number six as Holland played out an entertaining 2-2 draw with Germany.

 

But the Elliott injury has left Slot with a question to answer. One of the features under the new Liverpool head coach is the clear delineation between roles. There will be scope for versatility but, for now, Slot wants two players for each position.

 

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The Dutchman has already stated Szoboszlai and Elliott are his two options at number 10. So with Elliott out and the games ramping up with the start of the Champions League and League Cup campaigns, who fills the breach?

 

The answer isn’t quite so straightforward. Both Gravenberch and Mac Allister can play further upfield but are forging a partnership in the deeper midfield roles that Slot will, if it can be helped, not want to overly disrupt, even if there is an option to bring in Wataru Endo as a number six.

 

Curtis Jones, expected to be back available against Forest after missing the last two games through injury, has had limited senior experience as a number 10, while youngster Tyler Morton played in a similar role during his Academy days.

 

 

New signing Federico Chiesa has occasionally featured in his career as a second striker but not as a specialised attacking midfielder. And, of the other forwards, both Diogo Jota and Cody Gakpo played, albeit it extremely rarely, in slightly deeper roles under Jurgen Klopp. Slot, though, will surely prefer to utilise one of his midfield options.

 

With no Elliott for perhaps six weeks and Szoboszlai needing rotation, somebody will have to step in. The first test of Liverpool’s strength in depth in midfield has already arrived.

 

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