Jurgen Klopp has made a renewed call for five substitutes to be reintroduced following injuries to Trent Alexander-Arnold and Mohamed Salah.
Klopp confirmed that Alexander-Arnold will miss Liverpool’s FA Cup quarter-final at Nottingham Forest this weekend and ruled the right-back out of England’s internationals against Switzerland and Ivory Coast later this month, having only just been named in Gareth Southgate’s 25 man squad on Thursday.
The German also confirmed that Salah is struggling with a foot problem sustained in the win at Brighton last weekend.
“Trent is out with a hamstring, so will be out for England too. Not good news, we will see how long it takes. Mo felt his foot a little bit after the game too,” Klopp told his pre-match press conference.
Klopp has advocated for a return to five substitutes in the Premier League, a temporary rule that was first introduced in May 2020 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Premier League was the only major league across Europe to revert back to a maximum of three substitutes ahead of the 2020-21 season and Klopp has called again for changes to the current rules.
“We need some luck [with injuries],” he said. “We rest here and rotate there and we can make it more likely players can come back easier. Five subs is essential.”
Alexander-Arnold’s absence is a major blow to Liverpool with the Reds lacking another recognised right-back, having allowed Neco Williams to join Fulham on loan in January/
The 23-year-old has provided a team-leading 16 assists this season and Klopp admits Alexander-Arnold is difficult to replace, though named James Milner and Joe Gomez as potential options.
“We will see how it will take. To replace him is difficult but possible,” he said. “We have [James] Milner, [Joe] Gomez, these kind of things.
“Trent is so influential but Milner has done incredibly well in the past. We’ll see how Milly is for Sunday. Maybe a young solution?”
