Liverpool’s 1-0 win over Crystal Palace on Saturday was tempered by an injury blow to Alisson Becker.
The Reds’ first-choice goalkeeper was forced off the pitch with just under 15 minutes remaining after incurring a hamstring problem when kicking the ball. In the absence Caoimhin Kelleher due to illness, Vitezslav Jaros was summoned from the bench to make his competitive senior debut for the club.
The Brazil international was seen limping as he made his way out of Selhurst Park after the match, with fans now left nervously awaiting news on how long he’s likely to be ruled out for.
What’s the latest on Alisson’s injury?
According to Paul Joyce for The Times on Sunday night, Alisson is set to undergo a scan on the hamstring injury he incurred in south London at the weekend.
Arne Slot indicated after Saturday’s win that he fears the goalkeeper could be sidelined for ‘weeks’, with this already being the second time this season that our number 1 has been ruled out of action after he missed a couple of games in September due to a thigh problem.
Kelleher’s time to shine (again)
Liverpool chiefs will likely be thanking their lucky stars that they didn’t cash in on Kelleher over the summer, despite the Irishman making it clear that he’s no longer content to simply be an obliging backup to Alisson.
The 25-year-old stepped up when our first-choice ‘keeper suffered a separate hamstring injury in February, with the Cork native having a two-month spell in the team, during which he played a heroic role in our Carabao Cup final success against Chelsea.
It now looks certain that he’ll be called upon once more to see his team through a fiendish run of fixtures for the remainder of autumn, including a visit to Arsenal later this month, Premier League showdowns against Chelsea and Aston Villa, and Anfield clashes against Bayer Leverkusen and Real Madrid in the Champions League.
Whenever Liverpool have needed Kelleher in the past, he’s never let us down, frequently showing just why he’s looking to establish himself as a first-choice starter elsewhere by producing performances which’d see him walk into the majority of top-flight line-ups.
Duty calls for the Republic of Ireland stopper once more, and credit must also go to Jaros for helping us through those tricky final few minutes at Selhurst Park when he was thrown in at the deep end. His confidence will surely have soared after that assured late cameo against Palace.
