Alexis Mac Allister: Injury details & when he could return for Liverpool
Liverpool’s lack of ingenuity and creativity against Manchester United was deeply worrying.
Not for the first time this season, Liverpool struggled against a low block and rigid defence, the Reds’ attackers unable to find a breakthrough in a frustrating goalless draw at Anfield.
One player who could have provided a spark in midfield was Alexis Mac Allister. While he has usually played as a defensive midfielder since arriving in the summer, the World Cup winner has the ability to unlock defences with his impressive passing range.
Unfortunately for Jurgen Klopp, he was without the Argentine for Man Utd’s Merseyside visit due to injury, with none of his fit midfielders able to penetrate the Red Devils’ defence.
But what exactly is Mac Allister’s ailment and when might he return for Liverpool?
WHAT HAPPENED TO ALEXIS MAC ALLISTER?
It was just several minutes into the clash with Sheffield United when Vinicius Souza trod on the leg of Mac Allister at Bramall Lane, the former Brighton man writhing in agony on the turf. It appeared as if his evening would be over, but the midfielder soldiered on.
However, after a few more robust challenges, Mac Allister was eventually forced to withdraw from the pitch just before the hour mark.
Speaking after the Sheffield United game, Klopp confirmed that he had suffered a nasty cut to his knee and had needed stitches, but was hopeful that the injury wasn’t too serious.
However, it turned out to be worse than first feared, Klopp revealing the gruesome extent of the 24-year-old’s problem.
“It’s a bit more tricky than we thought at the first moment,” said the Liverpool boss.
“The other boy [Souza] stepped on his knee and the stud went through pretty much the muscle on to the bone.
“Now, we have to wait until the bone is healed and until Macca can deal with the pain, because it is pretty painful. Macca is actually a super-tough guy so we have probably to make sure just from an infection point of view nothing happens. That’s really important.
“I never had this injury for one of my players before but now we have it.”
Souza somehow managed to avoid a booking for what was an unpleasant challenge, with Mac Allister having missed the Reds’ subsequent three games against Crystal Palace, Union Saint-Gilloise and Man Utd.
WHEN COULD ALEXIS MAC ALLISTER RETURN?
Unfortunately for Mac Allister and Liverpool, there is no obvious timeframe for his recovery given the rare nature of the injury. However, Klopp has issued a slight update on his fitness.
Speaking before the game with Union SG last Thursday, the German stated: “I hope it will not take that long, I would like to say it’s day by day – but that would look like he could maybe play the next game [against Union SG] but he will not be ready for that as well.
“I hope the next three or four days he makes big steps and then we will see.”
With games coming thick and fast for the Reds, Klopp will hope to have Mac Allister back soon and will likely shed more light on a potential return in his next few pre-match press conferences.
While Liverpool won’t want to rush him back into the team, they currently find themselves light in midfield.
Ryan Gravenberch came off injured against Man Utd on Sunday, while Thiago and Stefan Bajcetic remain sidelined until the beginning of 2024 at the earliest.
That means that Wataru Endo, who has been fairly hit and miss in a Liverpool shirt, is the club’s only fit defensive midfielder, perhaps making Klopp think twice about reinforcements in the January transfer window.
Liverpool have problem with ‘special’ player as draw with Man Utd proved
Luis Diaz is struggling to find his best form for Liverpool.
He’s a player with five goals – less than only four of his team-mates this season – but he’s also a problem for Liverpool right now. That man is Luis Diaz. He is not the only attacker out of form at Anfield but it is clear his threat level has dropped considerably since his first few months at the club.
Against Manchester United he was arguably Liverpool’s most dangerous forward. That, though, is not much of a compliment given how ineffective the hosts’ attack was. The Colombian has become too predictable and too consistently cuts inside instead of going on the outside.
That showed in the 0-0 draw with United. He is currently a far cry from the electric, and near undefendable, force he was when he first joined from Porto in January 2022. His first six months at Liverpool yielded six goals and five assists in his first 26 appearances.
Since then, he has added only another 10 goals and three assists in 41 games. That is not up to standard – even if he was always going to struggle to match his predecessor Sadio Mane. Certainly it is not what is required in an attack-minded Jurgen Klopp team that has ambitions to win major trophies again.
He remains a player capable of making things happen but Liverpool’s No 7 simply isn’t as menacing or as unpredictable as he previously was. A serious knee injury, one that saw him miss 31 matches last season, is a major factor.
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That injury came at a time when Diaz was arguably the Merseyside club’s best player. He started the 2022-23 season on fire. But he has not had the same spark since his return to fitness – though it must be mentioned he has also had to deal with the awful kidnapping of his father this season.
He has scored just once in his last 14 Premier League appearances, with zero assists in that time. And for a player Klopp rates so highly, that has to improve.
The German said of the 26-year-old wide-man back in May: “I love him, absolutely love him. It’s unbelievable. He’s so football smart, moving in the right areas, naturally defending from his position, goal threat, speed, cheeky. Very, very special player.”
But Liverpool are not seeing enough of those special talents. So what can they do? Perhaps a rearrangement of the front line might be needed, particularly with Mohamed Salah away for a month with Egypt soon at AFCON.
Diaz might benefit more from playing with Cody Gakpo as the No 9 to drop deep and occupy defenders like Roberto Firmino once did for Mane and Salah. Diogo Jota could then start out on the right-hand side.
Perhaps when Salah goes to AFCON, Diaz could be even trialled as a centre-forward in a match or two given Gakpo, Jota and Nunez can all play wide left. The Colombia international is an excellent finisher when in one-on-one positions but does not often enough get into those areas.
And it was thought by those inside the club that he might be able to play centrally when he first joined. So perhaps Diaz might benefit from moving inside like Mane did in 2021-22 when his energy levels dipped. The switch helped the Senegalese become deadly once again.
Diaz clearly still has the capabilities to be a nightmare to defend against. But the draw with United underlined his recent underperformance. Liverpool really need their forwards to get back to form – and Diaz becoming more alike the player who arrived at Anfield 18 months ago would be a huge help to Klopp.
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