Liverpool midfielder Thiago Alcantara has been ruled out for Wednesday’s Premier League match against Chelsea at Anfield despite his return to team training, as reported by The Athletic.
The 32-year-old has been sidelined for nine months due to a hip injury, with his last league start dating back to early February 2023 during Liverpool’s 3-0 defeat at Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Thiago’s 2022/23 campaign came to an early end in April when it was determined that surgery was necessary to address a persistent hip issue and ensure his fitness for the start of the 2023/24 season.
However, his return to action has been delayed, and he is yet to make an appearance for Liverpool in the current season.
Despite being pictured back in training with his teammates on Friday, the former Barcelona and Bayern Munich midfielder won’t be available for the clash against Chelsea, signaling that his comeback may still be a little way off.
Speaking ahead of the Chelsea game, Klopp said: “Thiago trained [for the] first time, which was an incredible moment after all the months he couldn’t. And then training at the level he trains – oof! But he needs time.
“But it’s anyway a wonderful sign for yesterday. Nobody [new] out, the other boys still in.”
Alexis Mac Allister, meanwhile is set to make a return for Liverpool against the Blues.
The summer signing was absent in the previous weekend’s Emirates FA Cup victory over Norwich City as a precaution.
However, he has since rejoined the squad and is expected to be available for the game at Anfield.
“Macca trained yesterday so he should be fine,” the manager told reporters at the AXA Training Centre.
Mohamed Salah is currently undergoing treatment for a hamstring injury that he sustained during the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations.
Following the injury, he returned to Merseyside for an “intensive rehabilitation program” as part of his recovery process.
The 31-year-old is expected to be out for at least a month. Providing an update on Salah’s injury, Klopp said, “Mo is not ready for this game, not ready for the next game and then not.
“He is injured, I’m not sure if that was a misunderstanding in the beginning. He is injured and a muscle injury takes time.
“It could have been much worse but he is not available in the moment, he is just doing his rehab.”
On the game, Klopp added: “Obviously Chelsea have not only an incredible amount of players, [which] everybody knows, but they have an incredible amount of injuries as well.
“The players who are not available for them and stuff like this makes life really uncomfortable for each team and for each manager.
“I think now they have their core group together. They have the midfield they want to play. They have probably the last line besides Reece James.
“Up front they have the player on the pitch they want to play. So, that’s Chelsea now. For a long time they couldn’t line up like that and that’s obviously very different.
“That’s why if you go through the team it’s just a really, really good football team… you cannot see that in the table yet but [in the] last few weeks they made big steps in the table as well.
“It’s not important where you stand in the moment in the table, it’s where you go from there. I expect them to make big steps but actually I want them to start after our game.”
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