Alisson Becker injury blow confirmed as Arne Slot also gives Hugo Ekitike Liverpool update

Below is a summary of the full article. Click here for the full version from Echo or go back to LFC Live.

Liverpool Echo IconSportFootballLiverpool FCArne Slot confirms Alisson Becker is expected to miss Saturday's trip to Chelsea and also offers an update on Hugo Ekitike after the 1-0 loss to Galatasaray in the Champions LeagueArne Slot confirmed Alisson Becker will be absent for Saturday's trip to Chelsea with Giorgi Mamardashvili set for his Premier League debut at Stamford Bridge. And the Reds boss says he is awaiting a further assessment on Hugo Ekitike, who was also forced off in the second period of the 1-0 defeat to Galatasaray in the Champions League.Brazil international Alisson suffered an injury in the second half of the game on Tuesday when making a save from match-winner Victor Osimhen and was replaced by Mamardashvili, a £29m summer signing from Valencia.Osimhen's 16th-minute penalty was enough to settle the game Gala's way in the Champions League and Ekitike's issue at RAMS Park leaves Slot sweating on the fitness of Federico Chiesa, who missed the trip to Turkey with a minor concern picked up at Crystal Palace on Saturday."When he sprinted back, he felt something," Slot said of Alisson."I cannot tell you because I am not a physician but normally when a player sprints back and feels something and goes to the floor and doesn’t come back to the pitch – which by the way they did 112 times being injured and coming back on the pitch without any pain – but our players don’t do this."So if one of our players is on the floor nine times out of 10 I fear the worst, and with the worst I mean he cannot continue and that is what happened with Alisson."He will not be able to play Saturday that is 99.9% [sure], I have already said 100."Speaking to Amazon Prime after the game, the Liverpool head coach said: "It is never a positive sign when a player has to go off like this.

Alisson is an important part of our team, and you can be sure he will not be available to play on Saturday."On Ekitike, who was replaced by Alexis Mac Allister, Slot said "He felt something when he had to reach for the ball, I think we all know which moment it was."When we were trying to force something, I thought I can't get that long of a time, on the other side there was someone on the floor as well, the referee blew his whistle and I wasn't really thinking that we had an injury, but Hugo felt something."And after the game, that's always the difficult thing with these moments, when players feel like, oh, it's not too bad, but when you just walk around with something different, and when you make a spin, you have to shoot another one from the target."He said he couldn't continue, so we had to take him off. Let's see how he responds."