Conor Bradley remains an absentee for Liverpool as they prepare for the visit of Newcastle, while Arne Slot gave a brief update on Alexis Mac Allister‘s black eye.
Mac Allister shared a photo of himself on social media following Liverpool’s 2-0 win at Man City, sporting a black eye and a swollen cheek.
It came after a collision with Omar Marmoush that required the midfielder to receive treatment on the touchline, but was never expected to rule him out of contention.
Still Slot was questioned on the issue in his pre-Newcastle press conference on Tuesday, asked whether it could make him a doubt.
“I think he will [be alright]. He will train with us today,” he told reporters.
That led the head coach to an update on right-back Bradley, who missed the victory over Man City having picked up a hamstring injury in the 2-2 draw with Aston Villa.
“Conor doesn’t [train]. He will be out for a few weeks. I cannot tell you exactly how many,” Slot explained.
“It’s clear, he went off with a muscle injury, it’s going to take a while until he’s back.”
Bradley’s injury leaves Liverpool with only one specialist right-back in Trent Alexander-Arnold, who was substituted late on at the Etihad after vocal criticism from Slot over jogging back to stop a Man City counter.
Alexander-Arnold will keep his place for the clash with Newcastle, of course, with no indication of an issue with Slot beyond that moment.
Jarell Quansah is de facto second choice with both Bradley and Joe Gomez fit, though the latter’s own hamstring injury means Quansah is also needed as backup at centre-back.
Slot is unlikely to make many changes for the 8.15pm kickoff on Wednesday, but he could return to a more orthodox setup having fielded two No. 10s and no striker in the last game.
Diogo Jota should be available while Cody Gakpo could come back into contention, with Darwin Nunez and Federico Chiesa other options – albeit out-of-favour ones.
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