Arne Slot delivers Liverpool hammer blow as extent of Alisson injury emerges

Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson Becker ruled out until towards the end of the season as Arne Slot confirms Mohamed Salah and Alexander Isak return to training ahead of FA Cup and Champions League clashes

Arne Slot has confirmed Liverpool expect Alisson to be sidelined until 'towards the end of the season' as the Brazilian keeper recovers from yet another injury setback.

Alisson was absent for the away leg of the Champions League tie with Galatasaray with an injury picked up in training. Before returning for the Premier League encounter with Tottenham and the return leg against the Turkish giants.

Yet he withdrew from the squad once more on the eve of the Premier League away trip to Brighton ahead of the international break, and is now ruled out of both upcoming fixtures against Manchester City in the FA Cup and Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League.

Speaking at his pre-match press conference before the City tie, Reds manager Slot confirmed his absence from the game, stating: "He will not be part of the PSG game either, (he is) out for a bit longer. Towards the end of the season we expect him to be fit."

Slot did offer more encouraging updates on both Mohamed Salah and Alexander Isak, with the Egyptian fit enough to rejoin the squad after sitting out the loss at Brighton. Meanwhile, Isak is back in full training following the broken leg he suffered in December.

On Salah, who will be making his first appearance since announcing he will be leaving the Reds at the end of the season, Slot said: "Yes he is [available], he trained with us yesterday, he will train with us today and is available for tomorrow."

The Reds boss urged caution regarding Isak, saying: "It'll be too soon to expect him in the starting lineup, it was first time training yesterday after 101 days out.

"It will take a bit of time to give him a lot of minutes, but we will make sure we do the right thing to build him up. It is a good thing to have him on the training ground, even better to get him on the pitch."

On whether or not Isak could feature on the bench, Slot added: "It's a difficult one, we don't play a 'normal' game, it could go to extra time, which makes it difficult if he can only play 10 minutes.

"We can take him off again of course, if we have the players, but maybe a few minutes tomorrow, but let's wait and see today, how he feels. Two sessions, 100 days out, it makes no sense to start him tomorrow."

Slot also confirmed that right-back Jeremie Frimpong is "okay" but may need his minutes carefully managed after picking up an injury while on Netherlands duty on Tuesday.