Liverpool’s preparations for their Champions League trip to Galatasaray have been severely hampered with one of their key players withdrawing from their travelling party due to injury.
The Reds are in Istanbul on Tuesday night for the first leg of their last-16 clash as they continue their bid to win a seventh European Cup.
However, Arne Slot will be without one of his mainstays from his first-choice XI after the player complained of suffering discomfort after Monday’s training session, according to The Times.
And the player in question? Alisson Becker.
On Monday afternoon, Liverpool named a 21-man squad to fly to Turkey with Alisson’s name the notable absentee.
And The Times claim that the goalkeeper alerted staff to his issue after training, although it is believed to be a minor problem.
It is currently unclear if the 33-year-old will be fit for Sunday’s Premier League clash against Tottenham.
His absence though does mean back-up goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili is set to start against Galatasaray. Freddie Woodman will step up from third choice to sit on the bench as Mamardashvili’s understudy.
Liverpool have already played at Galatasaray this season – suffering a 1-0 defeat there in the Champions League league phase in September.
That encounter saw Alisson suffer a hamstring injury – subsequently missing the next seven weeks of the season.
That lengthy lay-off allowed Mamardashvili to deputise in his absence. The 25-year-old has played nine times for the Reds this season and has recently spoken of his need to remain patient for more opportunities.
‘It is never easy because there is just one goal,’ he told The Reds Roundtable.
‘If I don’t play, I don’t mind. I have to work hard every day and that’s it. My time will come for sure. Maybe not this year but my time will come.
‘My ex-goalkeeper coach, Jose Manuel Ochotorena, when I was in Valencia told me I had to find balance between ambition and patience. So keep working hard and you never know when your chance is coming.’
Speaking ahead of their tie at Galatasaray, Slot is under no illusions how difficult it will be.
‘Difficult. That is what you expect in the last 16, because every team you are going to face is difficult because they are there for a reason,’ Slot told The Breakdown on TNT Sports.
‘What makes it even more [difficult] for us is to know that we have already played there and we have lost. It’s a very good team and they have very good players.
‘But the whole atmosphere makes it different from any other away game I’ve ever played. Every time we had the ball, the noise, the whistling, is so hard that sometimes you wonder if this could be done by human people.
‘It’s so hard, from the start to the end. The noise is even harder than when they score a goal. So, it’s a challenging environment to play, but the good thing is that we play at home as well, and that’s going to be a challenging environment for Galatasaray to play in.’
