Liverpool ‘confident’ Trent Alexander-Arnold will be ready for start of pre-season… with club’s physios hopeful thigh injury will only keep right-back out for a month after cruel blow ruled him out of England’s Euros campaign
- Liverpool believe Trent Alexander-Arnold will be fit for the start of pre-season
- The right-back was ruled out of England’s Euros campaign with a thigh injury
- Club’s medical team are confident 22-year-old will only be out for a month
- Gareth Southgate is yet to name a replacement to fill vacancy in the squad
Liverpool are confident Trent Alexander-Arnold will recover in time to be ready for the start of pre-season on July 12.
The 22-year-old was ruled out of the Euros in cruel fashion after picking up a thigh injury late on in England’s warm-up match against Austria, with it confirmed that he will miss the entire tournament.
However, while it will be likely be little consolation at the moment to the right back, the Mirror report that Liverpool’s medical team believe Alexander-Arnold will be fine to report for the start of pre-season training.
Liverpool’s medics are confident Trent Alexander-Arnold will be fit for the start of pre-season
The right-back was ruled out of the Euros after picking up a thigh injury against Austria
They are hopeful he will only be out for a month, rather than the longer period initially feared, and will return to Merseyside and start his rehab at the club.
The injury was a devastating outcome for Alexander-Arnold, who had to fight just to get in Gareth Southgate’s 26-man squad.
The England manager, who left the Liverpool star out of a squad earlier this season, decided to pick Alexander-Arnold as well as Reece James, Kyle Walker and Kieran Tripper.
Those other options at right-back mean Southgate does not need to select a like-for-like replacement in Alexander-Arnold’s place, and still in theory has a week to decide on who will fill the vacancy.
The right-back had to fight just to be selected in Gareth Southgate’s squad for the tournament
He may make his decision sooner though, after England’s final warm-up match against Romania on Saturday before the tournament gets underway.
Speaking after he announced his squad, Southgate defended the decision to pick four right-backs and insisted adaptability was the key to success for England over the coming week.
‘Kieran has been playing at wing-back as well as at right-back,’ Southgate said. ‘Reece James has played right of a three or right wing-back.
The England manager will not need to pick another right-back after selecting four of them
‘Trent plays at right-back, and Kyle Walker has played at centre-half for us in a three and has also played at left-back for us. Reece James was in midfield (for Chelsea) against Aston Villa.
‘Basically, they are in our 26 best footballers, that’s why they are in the squad. And if I could have picked a fifth or a sixth right-back, I probably would have done!
‘We are here to play nine games. We already have some injury doubts in the group and I’m sure we are going to face other difficulties in the next five weeks.
‘So we need adaptability, good players, good professionals and tactically savvy players.’