Liverpool boss Arne Slot confirmed that Trent Alexander-Arnold asked to be substituted in the 2-0 victory away to Bournemouth on Saturday.

The Dutchman also said that it would be unlikely for the England right-back to feature at all in the Reds' Carabao Cup semi-final second leg against Tottenham.

In a difficult afternoon for Alexander-Arnold, 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.

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“He asked me if he could come off and then he went down," Slot told Sky Sports.

"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 Premier League leaders, who extended their gap over Arsenal and Nottingham Forest to nine points.

"Exactly the game we expected," Slot added.

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.

I didn't think we controlled the game.

I am very happy that we could keep a clean sheet and score two goals.”

Liverpool 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 Real Madrid, 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 Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk, 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, Everton, Manchester City and Newcastle coming up this month.


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