Trent Alexander-Arnold is set to miss the Carabao Cup final after aggravating a knee injury.
The right-back came off at half-time over the weekend as Liverpool beat Burnley to return to the top of the Premier League, with Jurgen Klopp confirming a problem in the “same area in the knee” where he he suffered a lateral ligament tear in January.
That issue kept him out for three weeks and Alexander-Arnold now faces another spell on the sidelines, with it widely reported that he has been ruled out of the trip to Wembley to face Chelsea on February 25.
No timeline has been provided for the 25-year-old’s return, but he is expected to be out for a number of weeks, missing upcoming Premier League matches against Brentford and Luton.
“He felt there [his knee],” Klopp said on Saturday.
“He stuck in the grass. We will see, we need further assessment. Same area in the knee. Nothing really bad, but he felt it again and we have to see, we have to assess it.
“Trent said it’s fine, but it’s not fine [because] he feels it so we had to be careful and took him off.”
After the Carabao Cup final, Liverpool host Southampton three days later in the FA Cup, before a trip to Nottingham Forest. There is then a potentially decisive clash in the title race on March 10, when Manchester City make the trip to Anfield, and Liverpool will be desperate to have Alexander-Arnold back by then.
In his absence, Conor Bradley is now set to get another run in the side, having been so impressive last month when given the opportunity.
The 20-year-old, who has now returned to the club after compassionate leave following the death of his father, provided five assists during his brief spell in the starting lineup, and scored his first Liverpool goal in the win over Chelsea.
