Trent Alexander-Arnold is not in the Liverpool starting XI against Real Madrid on Wednesday night as he continues his recovery from a hamstring injury.
The England international missed the recent international break and Liverpool’s victory over Southampton at the weekend due to he problem.
Arne Slot confirmed at a pre-match press conference on Tuesday that the 26-year-old can feature, but not yet from the start of a match.
‘Trent is in the squad but he will not be available to start,’ Slot said on ahead of the huge clash at Anfield.
‘He can maybe make a few minutes, in an ideal world he maybe doesn’t, but if it is really necessary he can make a few minutes tomorrow but he is not going to start.’
Slot also provided updates on Federico Chiesa, Harvey Elliott, Alisson Becker, Diogo Jota and Kostas Tsimikas, with mixed news.
‘Federico is not in the squad yet. He is training with us, not the whole session, but mostly one or two parts of the session,’ said the Dutchman.
‘Harvey Elliott is in the team but hasn’t played for a long time competitive football so, he is there, but of course not ready to start.
‘Alisson is not there yet, Diogo is not there yet, Kostas is not there – he is having an injury as well, so it’s quite a list for us as well.’
Alexander-Arnold has been strongly linked with a move to Liverpool’s opponents, with his contract running out at the end of the season.
The Reds star is thought to be tempted to link up with his friend Jude Bellingham in Madrid and the midfielder was asked about that this week.
‘I’ll be playing alongside him next season for England anyway, hopefully. That’ll be a guarantee,’ Bellingham said on Tuesday.
‘He’s a Liverpool player, and I think it’s disrespectful to come to his home today and speak before a huge game and speak about something that could be misconstrued.
‘So it’s important to take that pressure off him. He’s a really good mate of mine and I want him to do really well, normally. Obviously, not tomorrow night.
‘We’ll see what happens, but he’s a Liverpool player.’