Liverpool manager Arne Slot expects goalkeeper Alisson Becker to return to the squad in December after being sidelined with a hamstring injury.
The reds have flown to the superior of both the Premier League and Champions League tables after an immense start to life under the Dutchman. They have lost just one of 13 top-flight games so far this season, albeit without their first-choice goalkeeper between the sticks in recent weeks.
Alisson has been sidelined ever since Liverpool win 1-0 over Crystal Palace in October, he left the field early after suffering a hamstring strain. Since then, student Caoimhin Kelleher has replaced the Brazilian, successfully maintaining Liverpool’s early dominance.
But Slot hopes to have Alisson back before the end of the year, putting a time frame on his return.
“A few weeks ago I was clear about my position on our goalkeepers,” he told reporters on Tuesday.
“But we’re waiting for the moment when Alisson is fully fit because Caoimhin is doing too well to put Alisson in goal if he’s only at 50%. That wouldn’t be good for Alisson and it wouldn’t be good for the team.
“It’s getting there. It might take a few more days, but it’s getting closer and closer, and like I’ve always said, the final phase of rehab is always the period when you feel like, ‘OK, it’s really there or does it.” Need a few more days?
“But he will be in goal before the end of December if things continue as they are.”
Liverpool they host Leicester City on Christmas Day, before finishing 2024 with a trip to West Ham United on December 29. Manchester United visit Anfield in the first game of 2025 on January 5. Meanwhile, the Reds are in action on Wednesday when they travel to face Newcastle United.
