Liverpool manager Arne Slot has delivered a pessimistic update on the fitness of Dominik Szoboszlai ahead of Wednesday's EFL Cup semi-final first leg at Tottenham Hotspur.
The Hungary international missed the weekend's 2-2 draw with Manchester United due to illness, having previously been suspended for the 5-0 thrashing of West Ham United on December 29.
Szoboszlai was not name-checked in Slot's press conference before the visit of the Red Devils, and his illness was only confirmed after the official team sheets were released at the weekend.
Speaking to the media ahead of Wednesday's trip to Tottenham, Slot was not able to offer any guarantees that Szoboszlai would be available, as the playmaker did not report for training on Monday.
"Yesterday he wasn't in yet. If he's in today, I would doubt if he's available to start the game. But hopefully he's in today. Yesterday he wasn't," the Dutchman replied when quizzed on Szoboszlai's fitness.
Szoboszlai doubtful for Spurs as Slot discusses rotation
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Szoboszlai's absence would likely see Curtis Jones continue in the most advanced midfield position for Liverpool, although Harvey Elliott is another option and is one of a few fringe players pushing to start the first leg.
Darwin Nunez, Federico Chiesa, Jarell Quansah, Kostas Tsimikas and Conor Bradley represent other options for rotation in Slot's ranks, and the Liverpool boss has opened the door to some of his less frequent starters making the first XI on Wednesday.
"I think if you look at all the fixtures we've had this season, there are so many things going into a line-up – short term, long term, qualities of the opponent, where are my players [at]?" the Dutchman added.
"So it's going to always be a decision made about, in our opinion, the best line-up for tomorrow. In some situations, for Southampton away or other games, in my opinion the best line-up was the ones that didn't start a lot. Let's see what that is tomorrow for the game we play against Tottenham."
Right-back Bradley enjoyed a fine 10-minute cameo in the draw with Man United after replacing Alexander-Arnold, who on the other hand was blasted for a pitiful performance, where he failed to win any of his five ground duels and did not deliver a single accurate cross from six attempts.
Slot doubles down on Alexander-Arnold defence
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The right-back also gave the ball away for Lisandro Martinez's opening goal, leading to suggestions that he has been distracted by interest from Real Madrid, who reportedly submitted their first offer for Alexander-Arnold in late December.
The Reds immediately turned down the approach as they try to extend his contract beyond the summer of 2025, and after throwing his support behind Alexander-Arnold at the weekend, Slot doubled down on his defence of the Englishman.
"Trent didn't play his best game, I've said it already, but that's not for the first time in his life he didn't play the best game of his career. He has played so, so, so many games well for this club," Slot added.
"Now it wasn't his best – like for some others, it wasn't the best game for some others as well. We just pick it up and start training again, because these players know if you play 50, 60 games in a season, once in a while you don't have your best performance."
Liverpool will tackle either Arsenal or Newcastle United in March's EFL Cup final should they get the better of Tottenham, whose manager Ange Postecoglou also offered a fresh team news update to the media on Tuesday.
Ben Knapton
