International breaks were always seen as a nuisance and it has been taken up a notch with the complexities that the pandemic has enforced, and now there’s more mixed news for the Reds.
The question of will players be able to play for Liverpool immediately on return from a red-list country or not has been well discussed in recent weeks and days.
It’s an added layer of complexity that Jurgen Klopp could do without with key fixtures on the horizon in the Premier League and Champions League.
Alisson, Fabinho, Sadio Mane and Kostas Tsimikas are the ones in the spotlight having all been destined for a red-list country that enforces a 10-day quarantine on return to the UK.
However, as of 4am on Monday, fully-vaccinated travellers returning from 47 different countries taken off the UK red list no longer have to quarantine.
And it’s mixed news for Liverpool, with Sadio Mane and Kostas Tsimikas now expected not to have to quarantine on their return to the UK as South Africa and Georgia are now to be taken off the red list – where Senegal and Greece are to play respectively.
With Klopp having confirmed that 99 percent of players are vaccinated, they will only need to take a day two test in England and will, therefore, be able to feature at Watford and Atletico Madrid.
But the news is not as welcome for Alisson and Fabinho as Venezuela and Colombia are two of the seven remaining countries on the list, meaning they still have to quarantine on return to the UK.
Earlier in the week, Brazil manager Tite quashed any hopes of an early release after their second World Cup qualifier, a solution that would have enabled the pair to play at Watford.
Liverpool could instead choose to send them straight to Spain after their international duty to enable them to feature against Atletico Madrid, with a move from UK quarantine to Spain highly unlikely.
Players, however, who are affected by red list restrictions have penned a letter to Boris Johnson urging the Government to cut the isolation period from 10 to five days, citing the safety of moving from one football bubble to another.
Two more players for Atletico is better than none, but the situation remains far from ideal.
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