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Liverpool assistant coach Pep Lijnders confirmed that right-back Trent Alexander-Arnold suffered a knee injury against Arsenal in the FA Cup 2023-24. Though the Reds won the tie 2-0 thanks to Jakub Kiwior's 80th-minute own goal and Luiz Dias' injury-time strike. But after the game, Alexander-Arnold was diagnosed with a minor ligament tear.
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The English full-back's absence comes at the worst possible time with winger Mohammed Salah leaving the club for the African Cup of Nations to represent Egypt. Speaking during the press conference ahead of the Carabao Cup, Pep Lijnders spoke about how the 25-year-old could be ruled out for the coming few weeks.
Liverpool assistant coach said, "Trent hyperextended his knee during the last game [against Arsenal in the FA Cup third round]. "So he has a little tear in the lateral ligament of his knee and he will need time to recover. He had a scan and he will be out for a few weeks, so let's see after that."
"He will get some rest and then hopefully he can come back to where he was. Because this guy was decisive in all the games and was the one who created constantly for us from deep and gave the team a high level of flexibility. We will really miss him," Lijnders continued.
He will be back in the squad: Lijnders on Virgil van Dijk
Pep Lijnders also shared a positive update on the fitness of centre-back Virgil van Dijk, who missed the FA Cup 3rd round fixture with an illness. The Liverpool assistant coach said, "Virgil is back. He did some runs yesterday on the pitch, looked good again. So he will be back in the squad [on Wednesday], he recovered well. So it really helped him not to travel to London."
