Liverpool’s plan for Darwin Nunez during the international break has been left in tatters

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Liverpool will sit back and hope for no further injuries during the current international break.

The Reds had been doing well in terms of the fitness of the first-team squad up until recently, but saw more than one problem rear its head at the weekend.

Alisson Becker will not travel to play for Brazil after damaging a hamstring against Crystal Palace, while Alexis Mac Allister picked up a knock, too.

Mac Allister has flown to join up with the Argentina squad, though, with Liverpool having to trust that the world champions will use him sensibly.

In the meantime, it had looked likely to be another pause in a stop-start season for Darwin Nunez.

With Nunez banned from international football with Uruguay, Liverpool had reportedly put a plan in place for their No.9 over the next two weeks. However, something has now changed.

Liverpool’s Darwin Nunez plan revealed

Nunez has had a difficult start to life under Arne Slot. The 25-year-old has started just one Premier League game so far.

Although he ended up scoring during his only start, Nunez has been ineffectual during the rest of his time on the pitch.

Without the option of getting up to speed for Uruguay, the international break could have been another bump in the road for the No.9.

As a result, The Times report that Liverpool had actually planned to stage a behind-closed-doors game with the sole purpose of getting match fitness into Nunez.

READ MORE: Fabrizio Romano reacts to rumours Liverpool could sell Darwin Nunez to Atletico Madrid

However, with Uruguay appealing the striker’s ban to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, Nunez is reportedly set to be available to play for his country instead.

Although this has scuppered Liverpool’s plans for boosting Nunez’s fitness in-house, it is actually suggested to have been seen as a positive thing by the Reds.

Liverpool are claimed to be hoping that the former Benfica man can ‘gain valuable playing time’ for Uruguay and come back ready to play a bigger part in a tough run of fixtures for Slot.

Darwin Nunez in need of game time

There is little question that Liverpool need more out of Nunez. Whether that is simply a case of the forward not being up to speed this season, though, we’re not quite sure.

Nunez has shown so many glimpses of the obvious quality that he has since arriving at Liverpool in 2022. But he has also unfortunately shown many times that he still has a lot to learn, too.

This season, we simply haven’t seen much at all from him. There has not been the chaotic approach that Liverpool supporters have become used to seeing. Instead, Nunez’s performances have been flat as a pancake.

Although that probably isn’t all down to match fitness, it is clear that Darwin needs to play more to be able to show his best self.

As a result, the behind-closed-doors game was probably a good idea from Liverpool and shows just how badly Slot wants to get Nunez going. Instead, hopefully he can get some meaningful minutes with Uruguay and get some much-needed confidence back into his game.