Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson is expected to be out for at least seven games after sustaining a hamstring injury against Crystal Palace.

The Brazilian went off in the 79th minute of Liverpool's 1-0 victory at Selhurst Park on Saturday and, according to widespread reports, is likely to be sidelined until at least the November international break.

Alisson was replaced by Premier League debutant Vitezslav Jaros against Palace as Caoimhin Kelleher missed that game through illness.

Kelleher deputised earlier in the season when Alisson was sidelined by a different hamstring injury, and is set to do so again, having recovered to join up with the Republic of Ireland national team.

Alisson also immediately pulled out of Brazil's squad for the upcoming World Cup qualifiers before having his scans.

"Alisson is our clear No. 1, the best goalkeeper in the world, so it's a blow when he gets injured for himself and the team," Slot said after the match on Saturday.

"We have a second option that's already good. Caoimhin has already shown that, which is why Caoimhin is the No. 2, and the last time Alisson was injured, I played Caoimhin."

The Reds have made a flying start to the season, winning nine of their 10 matches in all competitions.

However, they will likely have to navigate Premier League matches against Chelsea, Arsenal, Brighton, who they also face in the EFL Cup, and Aston Villa without their usual number one, as well as Champions League meetings with RB Leipzig and Bayer Leverkusen.  

Arne Slot confirmed Alisson is set for a spell on the sidelines after being forced off injured late in Liverpool's 1-0 win over Crystal Palace on Saturday.

Diogo Jota scored the only goal nine minutes in after Eddie Nketiah had a goal disallowed in the first minute for offside.

Palace attempted to find a late equaliser, but amid their flurry of chances, Alisson went down after a routine clearance holding his right leg.

Having only just returned from a thigh injury, it is a worrying sign for the Brazilian, with big games against Chelsea and Arsenal coming up.

And though Slot was pleased to get the win that secured their stay at the top of the table over the international break, he confirmed it was unlikely Alisson would be available for their next games.

"Mostly for me, it's special [to be top of the table]," Slot told TNT Sports.

"Players go to their national team, and they think of the national team, but for me, if I lose it is three to four days of being unhappy. I think my wife will be happy as she will have someone home who is happy.

"Really satisfied with how we started the season. It is a good start, not only the results, but I liked our performance today.

"The fixtures are difficult, but I have felt how difficult Wolves and Palace are away. It is good that we have won these games, and it is up to us to show ourselves in the big games.

"Unfortunately, Alisson will not be with us in these matches with how he walked off the pitch."

Meanwhile, Oliver Glasner was left frustrated as he felt Palace should have had a penalty for a push by Virgil van Dijk on Marc Guehi.

They are winless in their first seven matches of the Premier League, their longest such run at the start of a campaign in the competition since 2017-18 (also seven games), but the German is not worried after seeing positive signs from his team.

"We should have had a clear penalty," Glasner said. "I disagree [with the PGMOL explanation] if it was on the halfway line they'd have given a foul. When it's a foul, it's a foul.

"It doesn't matter if it had an impact or not. If it is in the box, it is a penalty.

"It is frustrating we didn't get a point because we had chances. The way we played in the second half – creating more chances and moments and not giving them chances – gives me confidence."

Diogo Jota's early goal was enough to secure Liverpool a 1-0 victory over Crystal Palace in the Premier League on Saturday.

The Portuguese forward netted after just nine minutes at Selhurst Park, darting in behind to pick out the bottom-left corner on his 100th start for the Reds in all competitions.

It could have been a different story though, as Eddie Nketiah had a goal ruled out for offside in the first minute, setting off too early before he dinked Alisson. 

The Eagles pushed for a late equaliser but could not breach Liverpool's backline despite their late flurry of chances.

A sixth victory from seven matches moves Arne Slot's side four points clear at the top of the table before title rivals Arsenal and Manchester City play later on Saturday, while Palace remain without a win in 18th.

Data Debrief: Slot continues flying start

Liverpool have won all four of their away games under Slot so far, with the Dutchman just the fourth manager in Premier League history to manage the feat.

He is also the first Reds manager to win as many as nine of his first 10 games in charge (L1).

Palace showed some late fight, but it was not enough to flip the script and earn their first win of the Premier League season, with this their longest winless start since 2017-18.

Liverpool have confirmed the signing of Giorgi Mamardashvili from Valencia, with the goalkeeper immediately loaned back to Los Che for this season.

The Georgia international impressed at Euro 2024 with his country and has subsequently earned a move to Anfield, becoming the first major signing of Arne Slot's Liverpool tenure.

Mamardashvili will stay in Spain with Valencia for the remainder of the LaLiga campaign before moving to Merseyside ahead of the 2025-26 campaign.

Widespread reports suggest the Reds have agreed a €30million deal (£25m), including add-ons, to sign the 23-year-old, who will be expected to challenge Alisson for the starting spot in goal.

Mamardashvili's move comes off the back of an impressive European Championship showing, managing 21 saves during the three group-stage games, the joint-most of any goalkeeper in the tournament's history.

He has recorded 102 appearances for Valencia, keeping 31 clean sheets in all competitions and starting both of their fixtures so far this term against Barcelona and Celta Vigo.

Goalkeeping rival Alisson has two years and the option of a further year left on his Liverpool contract, but is expected to remain as the first-choice option, with Caoimhin Kelleher also among the Reds ranks.

Slot's side are said to be interested in Juventus' Federico Chiesa, too, before the transfer window closes on Friday in England.

Fabinho and Alisson were impressed by Trent Alexander-Arnold's performance in a new role for Liverpool against Leeds United.

The Reds routed their relegation-threatened opponents 6-1 at Elland Road on Monday, with Alexander-Arnold pulling the strings.

The 24-year-old has been much-maligned this season for his defending, but showcased his impressive passing range as he regularly stepped into midfield alongside Fabinho, Curtis Jones and Jordan Henderson, while also covering right-back in defensive phases.

Speaking to Liverpool's official website, Fabinho explained it is not that much of a change for his team-mate, who often found himself drifting into the midfield from right-back anyway.

"Trent is somebody [who is] really good on the ball, with his quality of pass and finding players in behind," the Brazil international said. "We can really use this.

"In this position, of course he will have less time to think, but I think he's a little bit used to being in this position. Even when he played right-back, he likes to drop a little bit and go to the middle. We can really use his quality of pass.

"In the last game [v Leeds], he gave two assists and was really good – not just with his passing, but his reaction was good as well. I think in the academy he played as a midfielder, so he knows a little bit about this role and it was not hard for him."

 

Alexander-Arnold claimed two assists on Monday, becoming just the fourth player to do so in a Premier League game while also completing 100+ passes and maintaining a pass accuracy over 90 per cent since records began in 2003-04 (after Santi Cazorla v West Bromwich Albion in 2015, David Silva v Newcastle United in 2020, and Paul Pogba v Newcastle in 2021).

Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson added: "This game was a really good example of [Liverpool's counter-pressing] – the way that we react.

"Not only Trent going from the midfield and then going to the side, but other players knowing that we need to have a good reaction on the counter-press or getting back to their position, buying time.

"We dealt really well with the chances that the opponent had for counter-attacks – we stopped them so often in the game. As Fab said, this always gives you a good feeling on the pitch. That's something that we want to keep with us."

Jurgen Klopp's men host Nottingham Forest on Saturday as they look to make a late run for the European spots, currently sitting in eighth place, nine points behind Newcastle in fourth with eight games remaining.

"Football is quick," Alisson added. "We have a different opponent now in front of us. They have their goals, they need to reach their targets. We have ours as well. We come from a game where we found our way back and they come from a game they lost [2-0 at home to Manchester United].

"They want to show a response, for sure, for their supporters, for themselves. But we are focused on things that we need to do and prepare as best as we can to get on the pitch. It's a home game, it's always good to play [there], to have your supporters there helping you.

"I hope Anfield will be on fire on Saturday afternoon."

Under-fire Liverpool must prove their desire remains intact when they host Everton in Monday's Merseyside derby, says goalkeeper Alisson.

Last week's 3-0 thrashing at Wolves extended Liverpool's wait for a first Premier League win of 2023, leaving Jurgen Klopp's men mired in mid-table and 11 points adrift of a top-four place. 

Only once in the Premier League era have Liverpool started a calendar year with a longer winless run (five games in 2017), while they have also failed to score in their last three league outings. 

Liverpool's struggles have led to suggestions a team which almost landed an unprecedented quadruple last season needs to be rebuilt, while some have even called Klopp's position into question.

Speaking to the club's website ahead of Monday's huge derby, Alisson said: "It's a difficult moment – we recognise that. 

"I think the first step you need to make for changing the situation is recognising your real situation. 

"We are doing that. For this week, we have time, we are working hard. We know the importance of a derby. 

"We know the importance and the meaning for us to have a good performance, to show to our supporters that we still have the desire inside of us. We are going to do that and try to win the game."

Despite Liverpool's negative results, Alisson believes there have been some positive signs in recent games, and he is backing Klopp's team to turn their miserable season around.

"During the matches, we have a few good moments, so we can say we are playing at 75, 80 per cent of what we can play," he added. 

"We have to put [in] more, we have to give extra things for the team – not only in terms of football but in excitement, in attitude, supporting team-mates, everything that is in your hands to try to change our situation. 

"We understand that and we're going to use everything that we have in our hands to turn around this moment, this situation. I believe it is just a moment and we're going to get out soon." 

A horror-show performance from Alisson condemned holders Liverpool to an FA Cup third-round replay after they were held 2-2 by Wolves on Saturday.

The Reds goalkeeper was at direct fault for the visitors' opener and leaked a soft second, as Goncalo Guedes and Hwang Hee-chan netted at Anfield.

Goals from Darwin Nunez and Mohamed Salah dug Jurgen Klopp's men out of danger between those Wolves strikes, while Cody Gakpo also impressed on his club debut.

Yet the lapses at the back proved costly for the holders, and Julen Lopetegui's visitors will feel they had their chances to claim an underdog win outright against the holders.

They certainly seized their opportunity in the 26th minute when Alisson fired a routine clearance straight to the unmarked Guedes, with the Portugal international lashing a low finish straight back past the Brazilian.

But Liverpool wrestled themselves back on the stroke of half-time after Nunez tucked home a sublime cross from Trent Alexander-Arnold with a deft volley.

Seven minutes after the interval, Gakpo helped put the hosts ahead after Salah finished his chipped ball, with the forward played onside by a botched Tote Gomes clearing header.

That looked like it could have been enough for the hosts, but Alisson was at fault again after Hwang was able to smother a tame shot past him at the left post in the 66th minute.

Hwang's goal sparked a frantic final stretch, with Wolves seeing a third goal chalked off by the linesman's flag in the closing stages, as neither could ultimately find the winner that would have avoided the need for a reunion at Molineux down the line.

Alisson warned Liverpool cannot make excuses for their below-par performance against Leicester City as they target an improvement at Brentford.

Two calamitous own goals from Wout Faes gifted the Reds a 2-1 victory over the Foxes at Anfield on Friday – their fourth consecutive win in the Premier League.

However, Jurgen Klopp's men were criticised for their display, having fallen behind to Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall's early goal and looked vulnerable at the back.

Liverpool have an opportunity to move ahead of fifth-placed Tottenham when they visit the Brentford Community Stadium on Monday, and Alisson goalkeeper knows they need to do better.

"The only thing we could take from Friday was the win and the effort we put on the pitch," the Brazil international told LFC TV.

"But there's a lot of space to improve. Looking at the performance, we have to do a lot better if the ambition is to keep achieving the goals that we have in front of us.

"We have high expectations and the supporters have high expectations about us. 

"Liverpool is a huge club which will always try to fight for titles and to be there at the top all the time. We have to do more, but we know that.

"We cannot rely on excuses. It was only the second game we have played after the World Cup. The players who had time off used that to prepare themselves. The ones who went to the World Cup could train and then rest to prepare for this moment.

"It's going to be a really important moment of the season now and we have to focus. We have to do better.

"Sometimes it's just a matter of mentality. It's not that easy to change it but we can do that for sure."

Liverpool have scored three or more goals in each of their past five meetings with the Bees.

The Reds have only scored three or more goals in six consecutive games against the same opponent once, versus Fulham between 1986 and 2000.

Brazil should have no regrets despite their failure to progress beyond the World Cup quarter-finals, says goalkeeper Alisson.

The Selecao drew 1-1 with Croatia after extra time at Education City Stadium on Friday, with Bruno Petkovic having cancelled out Neymar's record-equalling opener.

Brazil could not regain the momentum in the shoot-out, with Rodrygo missing their first penalty and Marquinhos hitting the post with his attempt as Croatia claimed a 4-2 triumph to seal their place in the last four for a second World Cup running.

Alisson was unable to keep out any of Croatia's penalties but he believes Brazil – who will also be under the tutelage of a new coach after Tite reiterated his plan to leave his post – should not reflect too harshly on their performance in Qatar.

"I think what went wrong is that it's football – anything can happen," Alisson said.

"People talked about us as favourites because of what we did on the pitch, because of our performances, because of the quality of our players.

"I said before, we don't have anything to regret, we would not change anything because we fought, prepared ourselves and were ready to try and win the World Cup.

"This is football, things don't always happen the way we want. No regrets, we look forward to the challenge that's in front of us."

Alisson conceded "the frustration is huge" but added: "We are proud of the dedication of each player, of the things we did on the pitch. The performances were really good.

"In my opinion we didn't deserve to lose this game, in the World Cup though there can be penalties and unfortunately we were defeated on that."

Brazil certainly had the better of the match prior to the shoot-out, with Croatia's only shot on target coming when Petkovic's effort deflected in off Marquinhos.

The Selecao had 21 attempts, mustering an expected goals (xG) of 2.55 to Croatia's 0.63. 

Alisson's opposite number Dominik Livakovic was in outstanding form, making 11 saves – he was only beaten by Neymar's moment of brilliance, which drew Brazil's talisman level with Pele's record haul of 77 international goals.

Neymar, who might have played his final World Cup match, had to be consoled by his team-mates after the match, while striker Richarlison was in tears when he spoke to the media.

Alisson, though, suggested the setback will only make Brazil's squad grow.

"We're going to have players who have to step up now, show leadership," he added. "We have so many players who can lead a team, so many who do that already, even the young players.

"We have young talents who will improve even more, learn from this World Cup and we have more experienced players as well who can still contribute.

"Now it's difficult to think about the future, because we have so much pain at the moment, but hopefully the future will be bright for us. We have just to take this defeat, learn from that and keep on going."

Virgil van Dijk says Liverpool "never doubted" the quality of Darwin Nunez following the striker's recent upturn in fortunes.

Nunez endured a frustrating start to life at Anfield following his big-money move from Benfica, receiving a straight card against Crystal Palace in just his third appearance under Jurgen Klopp.

However, the Uruguay international is starting to hit his stride in English football; his two goals in Saturday's 3-1 win over Southampton taking his tally for the season to nine.

"We never doubted his quality but obviously, when you have a price tag like that and the goals are not flowing like you want, it's good [he has shown character] and I think he's done very well," Van Dijk said.

"He has all the qualities for a modern-day striker. There is a reason why we bought him, and he's maturing, he's stayed patient, kept his head down and played and that's a credit to him. Hopefully, he can keep scoring and stay important for the group.

"Obviously, he learns how we want to play, he learns what we expect from him, he plays a little bit on the left, but also has a free role coming into the middle.

"It takes time. It is a new team, new environment, new country, new language, so it is absolutely normal for him to take a little bit more time [to settle in], but there is no doubt the qualities are there, and the goals will follow."

Van Dijk also heaped praise on goalkeeper Alisson, who made a string of impressive saves to keep Southampton at bay during the victory at Anfield.

The Netherlands skipper additionally highlighted Roberto Firmino's character, with the forward opening the scoring against the Saints after being left out of Brazil's World Cup squad.

"[Alisson is] important for the group on and off the pitch," Van Dijk added. "We don't want him to have to make saves, first and foremost. He had to do so [against Southampton] and he was outstanding.

"Brazil are a very good team, they have two of their best goalkeepers in their squad and in my opinion, the best goalie in the world is Alisson.

"I think Bobby [Firmino] should be in, but who am I to say that? He took it on the chin, all you can do is recover and be ready for the rest of the season and I think he will do that."

Alisson says Liverpool must rediscover their consistency to turn around their poor season, calling on the Reds to draw on the experience of recovering from a disappointing 2020-21 campaign.

Having won both domestic cups and finished as runners-up in the Premier League and Champions League last term, Jurgen Klopp's team have endured a dire start to this season.

Liverpool sit eight points adrift of the Premier League's top four ahead of Sunday's trip to Tottenham, and Alisson says Klopp's men must bounce back in the same manner they did two seasons ago – when they finished an injury-disrupted campaign in third.

"We always have belief," Alisson told Sky Sports. "We have the understanding that things are not going so well for us so far. 

"We have to be realistic. We have to be humble as well, to accept it, to fight more and to recognise what is going wrong and to change it.

"That is part of our team, being humble, fighting. We know that sometimes we cannot be the best on the pitch, but we will be the ones who fight the most. This is what we have done so far, and it worked out in other seasons for us.

"We can't forget the season we had before the last one, when we had to fight a lot. We struggled in the competition because of injuries, because of outside circumstances, but we came back.

"Something we all have in common, something we all agree on, [is] that we have to find our consistency again.

"Everybody is used to seeing it in our team. We, the players, and the people as well. A consistent Liverpool, conceding only a few goals, keeping clean sheets, scoring, winning games."

Liverpool are still yet to win an away Premier League game this season, their worst such run from the start of a campaign since 2006-07 (a sequence of seven), and would slip 13 points behind third-placed opponents Tottenham with a defeat on Sunday. 

Klopp's side are therefore under huge pressure to claim a result in north London, but Alisson says they must shut out the noise as they bid to change their fortunes.

"It [pressure] is part of football," he added. "It is not something that is easy to deal with. But we have all played football for a while now, and I understand that this is part of it.

"You are going to have pressure from the outside world, from the supporters, from the media. Only playing for a big club are you going to have this kind of pressure.

"I see it as normal, but we have to fight back, and our response has to be on the pitch with performances. What we can't do is let the criticism affect us and bring us down more."

Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson said he and his team-mates told each other to "stick together" during their recent difficult run of form.

The Reds won just two of their first eight Premier League games as they fell away from any talk of the title race in the early weeks of the season.

However, back-to-back 1-0 home wins against Manchester City and West Ham have restored some feel-good factor at Anfield, with the Brazilian's penalty save on Wednesday helping his team narrowly beat the Hammers.

A 22nd-minute header from Darwin Nunez put Liverpool in front, before Jarrod Bowen was brought down in the box by Joe Gomez just before half-time.

However, Alisson dived down to his right to palm Bowen's spot-kick away, before some nervy defending in the second half eventually led to a win for Jurgen Klopp's men.

Speaking to Amazon Prime after the game, Alisson said: "Since the beginning of the season we have big goals to win trophies, to fight for every competition that we are in.

"Things didn't work out so good for us. We started well with the Community Shield [victory] against Man City, an important game against an important, big opponent. It gave us a little bit of confidence but we didn't use that for the Premier League and then suddenly we lost confidence during the games, we lost players as well for injuries.

"And this is something that affected the team, the rhythm, some players coming back from a long time not playing. All the circumstances around affected us a little bit. On the pitch as well, performances weren't so bad but they weren't enough to get the three points, to get the win.

"We just stick together – it was something that we were speaking about a lot, to stick together at this difficult time, difficult moment. Working hard, working every day – not only on matchdays.

"Now things are coming out, the results are coming but we don't have to be too excited about that. We have to keep our feet on the ground and just stick together, keep on working because it's a long and tough season for everybody."

Alisson has only conceded seven of the 13 penalties he has faced in the Premier League (54 per cent, with two saved and four off target), the lowest percentage of any goalkeeper to face at least 10 spot-kicks in the competition.

Nunez's goal was his first at Anfield as a Liverpool player, and his fifth in all competitions since arriving from Benfica at the end of last season.

"We are helping him a lot, we keep him really close," Alisson said of the Uruguayan striker, who had six shots against West Ham before being taken off before the hour. 

"He's a really good lad. I know that it's not easy, it's really difficult to settle in a different country. When I came here, I knew a little bit more English than him – he's learning. He's working hard on that – not only on the pitch but outside to learn English.

"He's a really disciplined man and we are trying to help him, help Lucho [Luis Diaz]. We are a really strong team who works together and sticks together all the time when we are at the training ground.

"Sometimes outside the pitch we come together to spend time together – and this is important not only for him but for his family and for all our families."

Liverpool secured a second 1-0 win in the space of a few days after beating West Ham in the Premier League on Wednesday.

Darwin Nunez's first-half header was enough to seal the points for Jurgen Klopp's men, his first goal at Anfield for his new club.

West Ham were second best for most of the game but will still be disappointed to leave empty-handed after Jarrod Bowen saw a penalty saved by Alisson just before the break.

It ends a run of five games without defeat for David Moyes' team, while Liverpool followed up their impressive victory over Manchester City on Sunday.

The first chance of note came in the 15th minute when a long pass from Thiago Alcantara found Nunez, whose fierce 25-yard strike was tipped over by Lukasz Fabianski.

But the Uruguayan was not to be denied seven minutes later as he ran onto Kostas Tsimikas' pinpoint left-wing delivery to head past the despairing Fabianski into the far corner of the net.

Liverpool almost scored again when Nunez rattled the post from the edge of the box but nearly had their lead wiped out just before half-time.

Bowen was felled in the box by Joe Gomez, only for Alisson to save the England international's resulting penalty low to his right.

Jordan Henderson and Roberto Firmino went close to adding to the hosts' lead in the second half, while Kurt Zouma hit his own crossbar with an attempted block.

West Ham could have snatched a late equaliser when the ball fell kindly for Tomas Soucek in front of goal, only for substitute James Milner to deflect it off target and ultimately seal the win for Liverpool.

Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp has confirmed Alisson and Diogo Jota will not be available for Saturday's Community Shield clash with Manchester City, but the goalkeeper should be fit for the start of the new Premier League season.

Alisson sustained an abdominal injury in Liverpool's opening pre-season outing, a 4-0 loss to Manchester United in Bangkok two weeks ago, and has missed their three friendlies since then.

Speaking earlier in the week, Klopp suggested that Alisson still had a chance of taking part against City at the King Power Stadium this weekend, but the Brazil international has now officially been ruled out.

On a more positive note, however, Klopp revealed he expects his first-choice keeper – who started 36 of Liverpool's 38 league matches last season – to be fit in time for next week's Premier League opener at Fulham.

"Alisson trained today more today than the day before and will definitely be available for Fulham, but not for the weekend," Klopp said at his pre-match news conference on Thursday.

Klopp also announced that forward Jota is still not available, having yet to feature for the Reds this pre-season after suffering a recurrence of a hamstring injury, adding it "will take a while" before the Portugal international will be considered for selection again.

 

With Caoimhin Kelleher also unavailable, Liverpool are likely to go with third-choice keeper Adrian in goal this weekend in a curtain-raising showdown between last season's Premier League and FA Cup winners.

Including occasions when the trophy was shared, Liverpool have won the Community Shield 15 times, a tally bettered only by Manchester United (21) and Arsenal (16).

And having lifted the Premier League, Champions League, EFL Cup, FA Cup, European Super Cup and Club World Cup across his seven years at Anfield, Klopp is motivated to add a new trophy to his collection.

"It's a very important game. It's the last domestic cup competition we haven't won yet, so we'll give it a try," the German coach said. "It's a very important game, but we still have to prepare for a whole season. 

"I can't ignore the fact that after the game is a season – we will have to extend our pre-season into the season."

Saturday's match will be Liverpool's first competitive outing since losing May's Champions League final to Real Madrid, but Klopp insists that defeat was soon out of his system.

"It took me a day [to get over it] and then we had the parade," he said. "We knew it was a close game and we were unlucky in moments but it's sport and we accept the rules. 

"We played in a high level, consistent and were deserved winners in the games we won. We have to do it again this season."

Liverpool lost on penalties to City in their only previous Community Shield encounter in 2019, with the game finishing 1-1 in normal time, and also lost in a shoot-out to Arsenal a year later.

Jurgen Klopp has conceded Diogo Jota will likely miss the Community Shield final for Liverpool, while Alisson "should be fit" to face Manchester City.

Jota sat out of the pre-season opener in Bangkok on Tuesday, a 4-0 defeat to Manchester United, before Alisson joined the forward on the injury list ahead of the 2-0 victory over Crystal Palace on Friday.

Klopp had previously suggested he was concerned by a recurrence of Jota's hamstring issues, the forward having initially aggravated the problem he suffered when away with Portugal on international duty in June.

After victory over Palace in Singapore, where Mohamed Salah and Jordan Henderson were on target, Klopp provided an update on the injured duo.

"Ali, I think, has the chance for City and Diogo not," Reds manager Klopp told reporters as he discussed the upcoming Community Shield on July 30.

"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. 

"But yeah, these kind of things happen. The boys have to travel a lot and train and you never know exactly. 

"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."

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain was another to limp off in the pre-season clash with Patrick Vieira's side, and Klopp hopes the "top-class" England international will soon recover from a muscle injury setback.

"Of course, it's very disappointing for us because Oxlade trained all the time really well since the pre-season started," he added.

"It happened obviously with Ox in the past when it gets more intense and something can happen. Now this is just a muscle thing and that's OK. We had worse situations, so I'm OK with it. 

"I don't know exactly how long it will take but he will be back and then it's all fine. He is obviously a top-class player and he can help us."

As injury fears mount, Klopp's attention turned to the upcoming Qatar World Cup, with July effectively serving as the first pre-season before unselected players will have to keep fitness across November and December.

Klopp, a regular critic of the Nations League and international football schedule, labelled this pre-season as like no other as he lamented the lack of concern for player welfare.

"Normally our pre-season is always the basis for the rest of the season, this time we have the first part of the season that's interrupted," he continued. 

"We are already kind of used to it because with the pandemic we had breaks and starting again.

"So it's not completely new to us anymore and when these players have time off, for example, if they are not at the World Cup, they never have real time off, they have a training schedule to fulfil so they don't lose a lot in these periods, which is very important for us.

"That's why we can give them at least as long as possible time off with family and holiday and stuff like this, but they just need it.

"Apart from that, the World Cup is for all top teams in football pretty much the same, especially in England it's the same because we play immediately.

"If you are in the final or the third-place [game] then you play again a week later - and then you play 26th, 31st, 2nd and stuff like this.

"Obviously the guys in the Premier League like the spectacular. I've said it often enough, nobody really cares about the players in these moments but that's how it is."

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