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Liverpool coach offers Alisson injury update as Reds’ goalkeepers rule revealed
Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson Becker won’t be fit for Premier League action before next month’s international break, as the Reds’ goalkeeping coach issues an injury update on the Brazilian shot stopper.
Liverpool: Alisson Becker injury 'not good for us' says Klopp
Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson Becker still faces a number of weeks on the sidelines after his injury setback, according to the Reds’ goalkeeper coach John Achterberg.
Alisson was injured in Liverpool’s first Premier League game of the season, against Norwich City.
He picked up a calf injury as he slipped while kicking the ball forward towards the half-way line and immediately fell to the ground, calling for assistance.
Alisson has been replaced in goal with new signing Adrian for the time being, and the Brazilian is unlikely to return before the international break in September, said Achterberg.
There’s an international break coming up and we’ll have to wait and see how long it takes after that
“They haven’t given us a specific time he’ll be out, as it’s difficult to say how quickly it will heal,” he told The Athletic. “That’s all with the medics.
“There’s an international break coming up and we’ll have to wait and see how long it takes after that.
“Ali is good. He’s in every day for treatment and they try to improve things.
“He’s able to do some fitness work in the gym without using his leg. It’s difficult, but you have to try to look forward and be positive. You have to try to turn a negative into a positive.”
The goalkeeper coach also revealed that Liverpool have a specific rule about the fitness of their shot-stoppers.
If any keeper has any kind of worries, they need to report them to the club's coaching staff straight away.
That way, it limits the risk of future long-term injuries. It goes to show that Alisson’s injury was just bad luck, and Achterberg said he actually returned to training in pre-season in better condition than last year.
He added: “When something like that happens, you look at everything. Had the training load changed?
“The reality is that we hadn’t done anything differently in the build-up to that game. Ali felt fine.
“We have a rule with the goalies that if there’s any kind of issue you always have to talk.
“He actually came back in much better shape this summer than last year when we first signed him.
“It was all positive and that makes what happened so frustrating for everyone.”