Alex McLeish has claimed that Trent Alexander-Arnold could be hindered by a psychological barrier after he returns from a calf injury.
The ex-Scottish Premiership star shared his concerns with Football Insider, claiming the right-back could face a struggle to return to his usual form in a hurry.
“It’s hard when you’re out for a wee while and you think you can come back and hit the ground running,” the Scot said. “Then sometimes you’ve been doing a bit of thinking, maybe overthinking, and you come back and you say: ‘Well I hope I get back to the form that I did before I was out of the team, before I got injured.’ That’s the challenge for Trent.”
As McLeish later pointed out – the Englishman will have the best possible support behind him, however, it would be unwise to rule out the mental fortitude that he will have likely built under Jurgen Klopp.
Though the Scouser will have been missed by teammates and manager alike, we at EOTK expect Klopp will want to bring the defender back to the fold carefully, given the Reds’ current injury woes.
With Neco Williams filling in well for Alexander-Arnold in the meantime, having recently combined with Curtis Jones in the 1-0 Ajax win to great effect, the club can afford to be cautious going forward.
We’ll be keeping a close eye on Trent, as we hope for the swift return of his swerving crosses from the right-flank.
This Sunday might be too soon for him – but the following weekend he should definitely be available.