Liverpool boss Arne Slot feels it’s unlikely Trent Alexander-Arnold will play for England in their forthcoming Nations League fixtures following his injury scare against Aston Villa
Arne Slot does not expect Trent Alexander-Arnold to feature for England during the international break following his injury scare on Saturday night.
The Liverpool right-back, 26, was withdrawn early on in the 2-0 win over Aston Villa with a suspected hamstring problem and is now a major doubt for this week’s international double-header with Greece and the Republic of Ireland.
Slot gave little away when he was asked for an update on Alexander-Arnold by TNT Sports post-match. But he seemed to indicate that he was fearful his vice-captain had sustained a serious issue during his press conference, where he made it clear he would be “surprised” to see him risked in England’s upcoming Nations League games.
He said: “It is difficult to say how serious it is but it is always serious if a player goes out in the first half. Not because I didn’t like him but he asked for it himself, he asked for it because he felt something.
“So that is first of all not a good sign. It is always difficult so close after the game to tell you exactly what it is but let’s wait and see. I would be surprised if we will see him playing for the England national team this week but hopefully he can.”
Alexander-Arnold has found himself behind Kyle Walker in the international pecking order for most of his career, but he has started all four games of Carsley’s interim reign following Gareth Southgate’s departure in the summer.
It would seem unlikely, though, that Alexander-Arnold will play any further part under Carsley before Thomas Tuchel officially gets to work as England’s new head coach in 2025.
Join the debate! What did you make of Liverpool’s performance against Villa? Let us know here.
Carsley has already come under fire this week from Pep Guardiola after he elected to call Jack Grealish up for international duty. The Manchester City winger has been absent for the past three weeks with an unspecified issue.
When Guardiola was asked if Grealish’s call-up meant he was fit, the Spaniard said: “No. It’s a question for the England manager. I’m not involved. They can select who they want. But no, he’s not fit.
“It’s [Carsley’s] decision. In 17 days he didn’t train once. Today [Thursday] was his first training and he trained for 20 minutes. This is the reality.
“It’s always has been like that. National teams always play in this period and I’m always pleased for players to go. When they are fit, and they haven’t struggled for the last one, two, three, four weeks. They love to play with their national teams. When they are fit and don’t struggle in the last month. I have the opinion they have to recover.”
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