Liverpool’s usual first-choice goalie, Alisson, is set to be absent for six weeks due to a hamstring injury he obtained during a match with Crystal Palace on Saturday. The Brazilian player was substituted at the 79th minute of the winning match, with tests revealing that the injury was serious enough to keep him off the field until after the November international break. This incident marks Alisson’s second hamstring issue of the season.
Consequently, Irish goalkeeper Caoimhín Kelleher will likely get extended first-team experience at Liverpool. Despite skipping the Palace match due to sickness, he is expected to commence Ireland’s Nations League match in Finland on Thursday. Vitezslav Jaros filled in for Alisson at Selhurst Park; the third-choice goalie notably made 34 appearances for St Patrick’s Athletic on a Liverpool loan during 2021.
Liverpool’s forecasted fixture list, spread between the international breaks of October and November, promises to test the mettle of the front-running Premier League team, as suggested by head coach Arne Slot. Their challenges include matches against Chelsea, Arsenal, Brighton, and Aston Villa in the Premier League, a journey to Brighton for a Carabao Cup match, alongside Champions League group games against Bayer Leverkusen and RB Leipzig.
The timing of Alisson’s recovery is critical; if all goes as per schedule, he will be match-ready by the time Liverpool travels to Southampton on November 24th and hosts Real Madrid three days later.
The veteran goalkeeper, despite missing 10 games the previous season and recently sitting out matches against Bournemouth and West Ham due to a previous hamstring problem, still maintains an influential presence on the team.
As an aside, Liverpool set in motion a £29 million deal in August to sign Giorgi Mamardashvili, a goalie from Valencia and Georgia international. However, he isn’t expected to relocate to Merseyside until the following summer.