Arne Slot delivers Trent Alexander-Arnold injury verdict ahead of Carabao Cup final

Liverpool manager Arne Slot admitted that he would be "surprised" if Trent Alexander-Arnold is fit to face Newcastle United in Sunday's Carabao Cup final after limping off against Paris Saint-Germain in midweek.

The runaway Premier League leaders bowed out of the Champions League last 16 at home to PSG on Tuesday night, losing the second leg at Anfield before they had two spot-kicks saved in the penalty shootout.

Alexander-Arnold tangled with Vitinha on the touchline midway through the second half. There wasn't masses of contact but the Liverpool full-back was left writhing in again after he appeared to land awkwardly.

Slot was not optimistic about his defender's swift recovery. "With Trent, he had to come off," the Dutch boss sighed immediately after the match. "That's never a good sign. And from what I heard from people that saw the images or how he got injured, that didn't look very good. So I would be surprised if he is available for Sunday."

Ibrahima Konate also required medical attention before tentatively shuffling off the pitch in first half of extra time. Slot had not yet discussed his centre-back's fitness with the medical department, but was more positive: "I have to ask but for me Ibou [Konate] was more that he was tired than it was an injury."

Alexander-Arnold's natural right-back understudy Conor Bradley and versatile defender Joe Gomez are both also sidelined with a muscular issues until April. This leaves Slot with Jarell Quansah as effectively his only option on the right side of defence for this weekend's Carabao Cup final.

Liverpool have four free days to recover from the physical, emotional and psychological pain of a surprise European exit before travelling to Wembley on Sunday. Newcastle, however, have their own personnel issues.

Anthony Gordon is suspended while two of Eddie Howe's first-choice backline - Lewis Hall and Sven Botman - have been ruled out with long-term injuries.

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