Jurgen Klopp has confirmed the likely return fixture for Alisson following his injury setback, while Diogo Jota is expected to miss the entirety of pre-season.
Liverpool went into their second friendly of pre-season with five absentees, and emerged with another fitness blow as Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain suffered a hamstring issue.
He joins Alisson and Jota on the treatment table, with the pair having both missed training on Thursday as well as the 2-0 win over Crystal Palace.
But the hope is that Joe Gomez, Melkamu Frauendorf and Tom Hill, who were all absent on Friday, are not facing any further time out.
For Alisson and Jota, though, the likelihood is that they will miss the majority of the pre-season friendlies – and certainly the clashes with RB Leipzig (July 21) and Red Bull Salzburg (July 27).
In his post-match press conference, Klopp revealed that Alisson is currently only able to work on his fitness, with a view to returning against Man City in the Community Shield (July 30).
Jota, meanwhile, is not expected back for that game, which suggests he would also be unavailable against Strasbourg the day after (July 31).
“Ali, I think, has the chance for City and Diogo not,” he told reporters.
“Ali, he feels a muscle, abdominal. It’s nothing serious but, again, we prepare a full season.
“So he can train but just not like before, so he should not play in the moment.
“Not normal goalie training but he has a pre-season, so he doesn’t lose time.”
It is a worrying start to pre-season, with nine players currently sidelined including Caoimhin Kelleher, Calvin Ramsay and Kaide Gordon, who were all omitted from the touring squad.
But Klopp explained that it is simply part of the preparation process, with there “nothing serious” to worry about.
“Yeah, these kind of things happen. The boys have to travel a lot and train and you never know exactly,” he continued.
“It’s only little things, nothing serious but we have to be careful because the rest of the season is much longer than the start.”
It is likely now that Jota will not be back until the campaign is underway, which will leave the No. 20 playing catchup.
Fan Comments