Arne Slot admits 'uncommon' Liverpool setback as he offers lifeline to out-of-favour star
Alisson is not expected back for Liverpool until after the next international break in November, meaning he will miss some big games, handing a big chance to Caoimhin Kelleher to impress between the sticks
by Oli Gamp · The MirrorLiverpool boss Arne Slot has admitted Alisson's injury is "uncommon" with the Brazilian goalkeeper set to be sidelined for the next month - as he blamed the game's hectic schedule for causing more fitness issues.
Slot's side face a huge game against Chelsea this Sunday as the Reds bid to stay top of the Premier League table after winning six of their first seven matches, but received a big blow after their first-choice shot-stopper was forced off in their 1-0 win against Crystal Palace last time out.
Alisson is not expected back until after the next international break in November, meaning he will miss big games against Red Bull Leipzig, Arsenal, Bayer Leverkusen and Aston Villa, handing a big chance to Caoimhin Kelleher to impress between the sticks.
Slot has been left scratching his head over the injury but believes Liverpool's jam-packed fixture schedule has hot helped the problem.
"It's uncommon for goalkeepers," Slot said ahead of the Chelsea game. "At Feyenoord I had the same with my goalkeeper, getting muscles injuries. We are looking into it and what the reasons are. If you get one the chances of another go up so we have tried to be careful.
"But also it's a good chance to explain again, there were some things about me not disliking 12:30 kick-offs but if you play Wednesday evening, it might be disadvantage to play 12:30pm after Champions League game...the chances for injury go up."
He also handed a lifeline to Kelleher by saying he might have picked Kelleher to play more games anyway as he continues to rotate his squad while attempting to fight on multiple fronts for trophies.
"We need to take this into consideration. You cannot change all 11 players but in retrospect I might have chose Caoimh [Kelleher] over Ali. In Holland, I am 99.9% sure the Champions League teams get extra rest to prepare. That is not common here in England."
Liverpool also have Vitezslav Jaros and youngster Harvey Davies as goalkeeping options but Kelleher will get the nod for the foreseeable future until Alisson returns.
The Irishman has proved he is a solid pair of hands, having started both the 2022 and 2024 Carabao Cup finals - with Liverpool winning both on penalties.
Kelleher has already played twice for the Reds this season, conceding just once in a 5-1 Carabao Cup win over West Ham, while he played 90 minutes in both of Republic of Ireland's games against Finland and Greece in this international break.
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