Liverpool boss Arne Slot shares what he’s expecting from Federico Chiesa after the international break

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Liverpool are dealing with a number of injury issues as they gear up to face Brighton on Saturday.

The Reds knocked the Seagulls out of the Carabao Cup in midweek, with a much rotated side coming out with a 3-2 win.

Saturday’s game will be a little different, with both teams likely to be more or less back to full strength for the Premier League fixture.

Despite that, there will still be a handful of players missing for Liverpool.

One of those will be Federico Chiesa, who has only played 78 minutes of football since his summer transfer from Juventus.

Speaking in his pre-match press conference, Arne Slot gave a definitive update on when Chiesa will finally return.

Federico Chiesa closing in on return

Liverpool have been without Chiesa ever since September. It has been an incredibly frustrating time for the £12m signing.

Fitness worries over the 27-year-old were raised upon his arrival at Anfield and unfortunately those have come to fruition.

It is not exactly clear what Chiesa’s issue is, but it has been serious enough for him to miss more than a month of action.

And according to Slot, the Italian will be out for another few weeks, with a return slated for after the November international break.

READ MORE: Arne Slot dropped hint against Brighton that ‘brilliant’ player has lost his place in the starting XI

“Chiesa is not back before the international break, but that’s only a week to go,” said the Liverpool head coach.

“So, we’re hoping that he can do things again during the international break and that he can join us afterwards.”

Slot also confirmed that there will be no returns for Harvey Elliott, Diogo Jota or Alisson Becker before the latest pause in the season.

Any further injury worries for Liverpool?

With a number of absentees during a packed Liverpool fixture list, the same players are being asked to go again and again for the Reds.

This obviously enhances the chances of further problems being picked up within the squad.

However, despite Liverpool playing twice over four days last week, Slot did not reveal any new issues ahead of the Brighton game.

Obviously, they would prefer to have everyone available and things do feel slightly stretched, but that is good news regardless.

Chiesa must be champing at the bit to get out on the pitch again for Liverpool. The Reds will tick over in the meantime, but it’ll be nice to have him ready for a big Christmas period.