Gary Neville has told his self-titled podcast that he really wished Trent Alexander-Arnold had played for Liverpool yesterday.
Injury blow for Liverpool
Alexander-Arnold missed out on featuring for Liverpool in their clash with Manchester City after picking up an injury.
The right-back has now had to sit out of the Reds’ games against Porto and City in the past week.
Alexander-Arnold actually wasn’t missed too badly in the Champions League against Porto, as Liverpool stormed to victory anyway.
However, the 22-year-old’s presence could have been a major boost yesterday.
James Milner was drafted in at right-back in Alexander-Arnold’s absence but he struggled to cope.
The Liverpool full-back was given the run around at times by Phil Foden, who was in fine form.
And Neville admits that he would have loved to have seen Foden battle with Alexander-Arnold instead yesterday.
He said: “It would have been brilliant to see Trent Alexander-Arnold on that right-hand side against Phil Foden, wouldn’t it?
“He would have been flying forward and to see what Foden would have done defensively and then the other way Trent would have come under real pressure.
“It wasn’t to be and as the game played on, you always knew he [Foden] was the route back into the game.”
Return imminent?
The hope for Liverpool is that Alexander-Arnold should be back in time for the next game after the international break.
The right-back is not expected to be sidelined for too long, and once he is fully fit he is almost certain to come straight back into the team.
Liverpool’s next game comes in two weekends’ time, when they take on Watford at Vicarage Road.
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