Liverpool loses Alexander-Arnold to injury for 'weeks'

Liverpool may be enjoying the winter break at the moment, as well as its secure position at the summit of the table, but the Premier League club nevertheless finds itself suffering with Trent Alexander-Arnold’s recent injury. 

The Liverpool defender has been a powerful addition to the top tier team since signing in October 2015. An impressive display of performance has followed since then, so the loss - even a temporary one - is a significant blow. 

What We Know About The Injury

According to assistant manager Pep Ljinders, Alexander-Arnold hyperextended his knee, resulting in a tear in its lateral ligament. He suffered the injury during the FA Cup against Arsenal, falling out of the game before Liverpool’s 2-0 win. 

Scans of the injury were taken, and it’s expected that the defender can return in just three weeks. But in the meantime, Liverpool's dynamic could very well change in his absence. 

How Alexander-Arnold’s Injury Impacts Liverpool

Ljinders lamented Alexander-Arnold’s untimely absence, noting that new strategies would have to be explored because the injured defender was responsible for much of the team’s flexibility. 

Of course, it’s not the first time that Liverpool has had to go without its top defender, who was recently nominated for Premier League Player of the Year alongside Michael Olise and Dominc Solanke. This past September, what looked like a completely different team entered the field with substitute Joe Gomez, forced to adapt to the skills of the players it had available. 

Liverpool greatly relies on Alexander-Arnold, the right full-back, drift centre to open up the field for more creative players to use their skills. It has worked wonders, even leading to a long, unbeaten run from April that lasted all the way until 9 November when Toulouse finally broke the streak. 

But with Alexander-Arnold recovering for the next three weeks, we’re looking at a completely different team with very different tactics and strategies, which are bound to impact the odds provided by football betting operators that accept GAMSTOP users. After all, whether or not Liverpool can continue some degree of its success remains to be seen; it may well be that Alexander-Arnold carries much more of the team’s skill than anticipated. 

Possible Replacements For Liverpool

As for who might replace the defender in the meantime? There are a few options for that, depending on how Liverpool wishes to go. 

The first option, of course, is to repeat history and put Gomez in his preferred right-hand side to fill the Alexander-Arnold-sized gap. But that didn’t fare well last time, and the English defender has been performing rather well as left-back. Plus, it would eliminate the usual strategy of going midfield.

In a like-for-like situation, Klopp could instead leave Gomez alone and bring in the 20-year-old Conor Bradley. Though he hasn’t had much time at all to prove himself, the 15 minutes he’s been given against Arsenal were impressive. 

Finally, there is one other possibility. Recall the 3-1 win over Leicester, and you may start to see visions of Curtis Jones picking up that right-back slack. It may not come naturally to him, but his style of play is perhaps the most like Alexander-Arnold’s: passing over long range, pressing forward, and connecting plays between the lines. 

Other Recovered Players Returning Soon

Amazingly, Alexander-Arnold is Liverpool’s tenth unavailable player made so due to either injury or international duty - of particular note, Mo Saleh joined up with Egypt ahead of Afcon 2024.

Other injured Liverpool players are hopeful to come back once the winter break is over, such as Dominik Szoboszlai. The Hungarian midfielder, who was injured last year, had reported that his hamstring was recovering well - though Jurgen Klopp admitted that he wasn’t sure that Szoboszlai would be ready to return quite so soon. 

Left-backs Andy Robertson and Kostas Tsimikas are also due back at training by the end of January, having recovered from their shoulder injuries. But the return of these players may not come in time to help Liverpool keep things together in Alexander-Arnold’s absence. 

Looking Forward

A fundamental cog in the Premier wheel, Alexander-Arnold’s unavailability means Klopp can no longer afford any slip-ups. However things go for Liverpool and whatever direction they take, a speedy recovery is undoubtedly wished for the injured defender, who should likely not miss more than the anticipated three weeks. 

Ifeanyi Emmanuel 

Photo Credit: liverpoolfc.com