“Brilliant” Liverpool ace set to miss next 7 games in injury blow for Slot

In Arne Slot‘s first real injury blow at the start of his Liverpool tenure, he must now find a way to put his squad together without one particular player who suffered a fractured ankle on international duty.

Liverpool injury news

The first international break of the season represents both the first checkpoint of the campaign and often the marker for where things could start to go wrong for several sides. All of a sudden, any unbeaten runs could come crashing down, promising starts could come to a crashing halt and injuries may begin to pile up to leave managers once again ruing international football.

For Slot and Liverpool, they will hope that’s far from the case. The Reds have got off to the perfect start under the Dutchman, winning three from three with three clean sheets to match. They passed their first real test with flying colours too, having dismantled Manchester United at Old Trafford in what has become a far too familiar sight for all involved at the Red Devils.

The international break has offered up a fresh challenge, however, with one injury blow already emerging. According to Paul Joyce, as relayed by Fabrizio Romano, Harvey Elliott is set to be out until after the October break after fracturing his foot whilst training with the England U21s.

The injury setback comes at a frustrating time for Elliott, who has played just seven minutes of Premier League action so far this season. With Champions League and Carabao Cup football coming up, however, he could have been in line for more game time only for an untimely knock to stand in the way of his first chance to impress Slot.

Liverpool games that “brilliant” Elliott will miss

Of course, this isn’t the first time that Elliott has had to deal with a foot injury, having suffered a dislocated ankle in the 2021/22 campaign, which sidelined him for as many as 34 games. The 21-year-old fought back well and will aim to do the same once again, albeit in far quicker fashion on this occasion, to earn the same type of praise once sent his way by former boss Jurgen Klopp.

Klopp told the press via HITC after Elliott returned from his previous injury: “Is it like that he wishes he would start each game? Yes, probably he wants that. But it was a little bit [like] when he came on he was brilliant, when he started he was not exactly the same. And it’s not a problem.”

Missing seven games, Elliott is reportedly on course to return after October’s international break and should, therefore, be available for selection once again for Liverpool’s big game against Chelsea at Anfield on October 20.