Trent Alexander-Arnold left the pitch in pain as Liverpool defeated Bournemouth. (Image: Getty.)
boss confirmed that asked to be substituted in the 2-0 victory away to on Saturday.
The Dutchman also said that it would be unlikely for the right-back to feature at all in the Reds’ semi-final second leg against .
In , under siege from Antoine Semenyo throughout, he left the pitch with a clean sheet intact but also with what appeared to be an injured thigh.
Conor Bradley was shortly introduced and Alexander-Arnold’s head was down as he left the pitch, with Slot confirming afterwards that he could not continue.
“He asked me if he could come off and then he went down,” Slot told . “He felt something, I can’t tell you exactly what it is because it is only now an hour after it happened but it is never a good sign if the player is asking for a substitution.
“I would be surprised if he plays on Thursday but let’s hope he is back as soon as possible.”
Alexander-Arnold’s early exit was the sole downside to an otherwise positive day for the leaders, who extended their gap over and to nine points.
Trent Alexander-Arnold told Arne Slot that he had to leave the pitch. (Image: Getty)
“Exactly the game we expected,” Slot added. “They’re so intense and they keep running every second. I said before the game when we were 3-0 up at Anfield at half-time they kept on running.
“We had to play on top of our abilities and we needed a bit of luck to win this game. They were constantly trying to do things. I didn’t think we controlled the game. It is a good team and a good manager. I am very happy that we could keep a clean sheet and score two goals.”
are one of the few teams that have a back-up capable of replacing Alexander-Arnold, with Bradley thriving on multiple occasions when he has been thrust into the first team.
Alexander-Arnold is out of contract at the end of the season amid interest from , and his absence could offer Bradley the chance to prove that a replacement in the transfer market is unnecessary if the vice-captain departs.
The English right-back, along with and , can all walk out of Anfield as free agents this summer.
But regardless of his future, Alexander-Arnold’s creativity is a big miss ahead of a busy schedule with fixtures against Spurs, , and coming up this month.