Liverpool are set to have Virgil van Dijk back for the first leg of their Carabao Cup semi-final against Fulham, but Trent Alexander-Arnold faces a spell on the sidelines.
Van Dijk missed the FA Cup win over Arsenal due to illness, but Liverpool assistant Pep Lijnders confirmed that the centre-back is available to face Fulham at Anfield on Wednesday night.
He said: “Virgil ran yesterday [Monday], while we were doing the training with the subs. He did a few jogs and was smiling and looked good. He will be back. He will be back.”
Alexander-Arnold, however, suffered a knee injury against the Gunners, and he is now expected to miss about three weeks of action.
It means the full-back is expected to miss both legs of the Carabao Cup semi-final, a Premier League clash against Bournemouth and an FA Cup match at home to Norwich or Bristol Rovers. He faces a race to prove his fitness ahead of Chelsea’s visit to Anfield on January 31.
“He hyperextended his knee in the game,” Lijnders said of Alexander-Arnold.
“There’s a little tear in the collateral ligament. He will be out probably three weeks. A big blow — he was one of our most important players, creates a lot of dynamics and is always decisive. Even in bad spells, he was the one who put the ball where it would make the difference. We will have to find new dynamics without him.”
Dominik Szoboszlai, Thiago Alcantara, Andy Robertson and Kostas Tsimikas all remains on the sidelines, but Lijnders was positive when asked about the four players’ potential returns.
“Dom is progressing well on the pitch, running, so he’s not far away,” he said. “Robbo is on the third month mark, so he has another scan and if that goes well then we can decide when to have more contact. That’s the tricky thing with this injury.
“Kostas is going as quickly as expected. Robbo and Kostas will be back probably at the end of this month training with the team. Stefan and Thiago will be into next month, but no complications so that is good.”
Northern Irish right-back Conor Bradley could come in for Alexander-Arnold against Fulham, while Joe Gomez should again start at left-back, where Robertson and Tsimikas remain unavailable. In goal, Lijnders has confirmed that Caoimhin Kelleher will start.
There remains no Mohamed Salah due to his participation in the Africa Cup of Nations, nor Wataru Endo, due to compete for Japan at the Asian Cup.
Predicted Liverpool XI (4-3-3): Kelleher; Bradley, Van Dijk, Konate, Gomez; Gravenberch, Elliott, Jones; Jota, Nunez, Diaz
Injured: Tsimikas, Thiago Alcantara, Szoboszlai, Robertson, Bajcetic, Matip
Unavailable: Salah (AFCON), Endo (Asian Cup)
Date and time: 8pm GMT, Wednesday January 10, 2024
Venue: Anfield
