Alexis Mac Allister misses Liverpool training with 5 absent before Chelsea

October 18, 2024
Jack Lusby

Liverpool were without five first-team players as they worked at the AXA Training Centre on Friday, with Alexis Mac Allister among those to sit the session out.

Mac Allister went into the international break having been brought off at half-time in Liverpool’s 1-0 win over Crystal Palace with an adductor problem.

He still joined the Argentina squad for their World Cup qualifiers against Venezuela and Bolivia, and played 66 minutes in the latter.

But with Arne Slot admitting the Reds were facing “a few issues” ahead of the visit of Chelsea on Sunday, the midfielder was among the notable absentees from Friday’s training session.

Kostas Tsimikas was also not involved in outdoor work having missed Greece’s 2-1 win over England through illness, but Wataru Endo joined the squad after sitting out of Japan’s 1-1 draw with Australia.

That is not to say that Mac Allister and Tsimikas won’t be available against Chelsea, with it likely that their workload is simply being carefully managed.

There was still no sign of Federico Chiesa with the squad either, after the winger missed the victories over Bologna and Palace with an unknown injury.

Alisson and Harvey Elliott were also absent, with the pair nursing long-term injuries.

That meant a small squad worked outside at the AXA Training Centre on Friday, with U21s left-back James Norris brought in to cover for Tsimikas.

Virgil van Dijk and Mohamed Salah were among those who trained having pulled out of international duty early, while Curtis Jones also rejoined his teammates after missing England’s meetings with Greece and Finland due to the birth of his daughter.

Slot is likely to make a number of changes to his starting lineup against Chelsea, not least with Kelleher coming in for Alisson.

Dominik Szoboszlai, Andy Robertson and Luis Diaz are expected to come back into the side, with Mac Allister, Tsimikas and Cody Gakpo dropping out.