Liverpool have suffered yet another major injury setback ahead of facing Manchester City next month.
That’s according to Brazil manager Dorival Junior, who has seemingly ruled goalkeeper Alisson Becker out of the blockbuster clash between the title contenders in March.
Liverpool are in the midst of a dire injury crisis with Jurgen Klopp currently without nine of his first-team players.
One of the biggest losses is shot-stopper Alisson, who hasn’t played since February 4 due to a hamstring injury and the 31-year-old is now set to spend even longer on the sidelines.
Brazil manager appears to rule Alisson out of Man City fixture
Klopp had not put a time frame on Alisson’s return and didn’t expect him back in the ‘foreseeable time coming’.
But now it looks like he will be out of action for another month at least.
Speaking to TNT Sport Brasil, international boss Dorival has ruled Alisson out of Brazil’s friendlies with England and Spain at the end of March.
“Alisson, Matheus Cunha and Brighton’s Joao Pedro will miss friendly encounters in March due to injury”, he said.
Brazil’s upcoming matches take place on March 23 and 26, which suggests the earliest Alisson will be back is the home game with Brighton on March 31.
That would see him miss the fixture with City on March 10 as well as Sunday’s Carabao Cup final against Chelsea and games with Southampton in the FA Cup, Luton Town, Nottingham Forest and Everton.
A huge blow
If it proves to be correct, then losing Alisson for even longer is a massive blow for Liverpool. Especially for such a crucial encounter.
Caoimhín Kelleher has been filling in admirably but Alisson is one of the best goalkeepers in the world.
Liverpool are also currently without Diogo Jota, Darwin Nunez, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Dominik Szoboszlai, Joel Matip, Thiago Alcantara, Curtis Jones and Stefan Bajcetic.
That is a lengthy injury list that any team would struggle to deal with, so it’s to Liverpool’s immense credit they remain top of the Premier League.
But it’s only by a single point and facing City without so many key players must be a daunting prospect.
