Arne Slot provides Alexis Mac Allister injury update

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Arne Slot has shed light on Alexis Mac Allister’s omission from Liverpool’s matchday squad for their Premier League clash with Newcastle United at St James’ Park on Monday night.

Mac Allister was not spotted among the 21-man travelling squad that arrived in Newcastle ahead of the game.

The Argentine midfielder started Liverpool’s Premier League opener against Bournemouth last week, where he was instrumental, registering an assist in the Reds’ 4-2 victory before being substituted in the 72nd minute.

The 26-year-old had been a doubt for the Bournemouth fixture after recovering from an injury that sidelined him towards the end of last season, and Slot appeared cautious in managing his fitness.

Interestingly, Slot did not list Mac Allister as an injury concern during his pre-match press conference, leaving questions over his absence as Liverpool prepare for another tough test early in the campaign.

The midfielder missed Monday’s 3-2 win at Newcastle after withdrawing from weekend training due to a fitness issue.

Arne Slot told his post-match press conference: “We are hoping [he will be available], yes.

“He had to leave the training pitch two days ago and that would not even be the biggest problem if he would have had a proper pre-season, but he missed out for so many weeks.

“There is a reason why you go inside, because you probably feel something and that is the difficult balance to find with players that were out for so long in pre-season.

“There you bring the base for the whole season and you can see these intensity levels, like we faced last week and this topped it up 10 times, I think.

“Then you need to be so, so, so fit and then it is always a risk if you bring a player that had a pre-season like this, had to go out two days ago in a training session, in this environment.

“With such a long season to go, it was too much of a risk for me but I am hoping, hoping things in the upcoming one or two days so that he is available for Sunday.”

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