Alexander-Arnold and Klopp On Liverpool Defender’s Injury Scare

There were some nervy moments during the early phases of Liverpool’s 1-0 victory over Brighton when it was not crystal clear whether fullback Trent Alexander-Arnold would be able to continue. The young defender had gone down with an ankle issue during pre-match warmups and had to be attended to by Liverpool’s medical staff.

The Reds recently had to endure the sight of Dejan Lovren departing the field mere minutes into their match against Wolves - leaving a huge question mark in the middle of the back line - so having to deal with a similar issue at another defensive position would not have been ideal. Those concerns were further stoked by the sight of James Milner warming up on the sideline early in the match. Nathaniel Clyne might have provided some potential cover in an alternative universe, but the 27-year-old had already been shipped off to Bournemouth.

Fortunately for Liverpool, Alexander-Arnold was able to shake off the complaint. Both he and Klopp offered some additional updates following the match.

“It was pretty painful,” said the manager. “[Trent] made the sprints but I didn’t like the way he made them because when he slowed down, I thought it looked a bit like limping so I thought it didn’t look good.”

“On the way to the dressing room, he told me the pain was away, had gone, then the Doc made a little treatment,” added Klopp. “I don’t know exactly what it was and I hope it was absolutely nothing; it was not nothing because it was really painful, but I hope it will not take long until he doesn’t feel it anymore.”

While that might sound like there are still lingering concerns, the player himself was quick to downplay those.

“It was just a roll of the ankle,” explained Alexander-Arnold. “It was a painful one but I told the manager and the medical staff I would just need a strapping on it and a few painkillers and I’d be good to go. It was good from the manager to have the faith in me to still put me out there and all was good.”