Liverpool head coach Arne Slot has admitted that he is concerned by the injury that Trent Alexander-Arnold suffered during Saturday's Premier League clash with Bournemouth at the Vitality Stadium.
Alexander-Arnold was forced off in the 70th minute of the contest, which Liverpool won 2-0 courtesy of a brace from Mohamed Salah, with the result moving the Reds nine points clear at the top of the Premier League table.
Slot revealed that the England international "felt something", but he is unsure of the exact nature of the issue at this stage of proceedings, with the club's medical staff needing to assess the right-back.
However, the Liverpool boss said that it is "never a good sign if a player is asking for a substitution".
"The situation was that he said to me, 'You have to take me off' and he sat on the floor and we took him off," Slot told reporters during his post-match press conference.
"He felt something, I can't tell you exactly what and how bad it is of course because we are one hour after the game, but it is never a good sign if a player is asking for a substitution. This is not a fact but I would be surprised if he plays on Thursday, but let's hope he is back with us as soon as possible."
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Alexander-Arnold was forced off injured against Bournemouth
Liverpool made it three straight Premier League wins with their success over Bournemouth, and they will now switch their attention to the EFL Cup, preparing to take on Tottenham Hotspur in the second leg of their semi-final on Thursday night.
"I said before the game that after our home game when we were 3-0 up at half time, the way they came at us in the second half, I already knew what a great mentality this team has and quality as well," Slot added after the clash.
"From that moment onwards they've done so well in the league. They've picked up points against so many good teams, not by luck, but because they're intense. They have quality and that's why we knew it was always going to be very hard and if you want to win here maybe you need a bit of luck as well because the margins are so small.
"Our penalty was just not offside and their goal to make it 1-1 was just offside. They hit the post twice, we had our chances as well, but it was a close call for us to win this game."
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Liverpool sent out title message against Bournemouth
Liverpool's lead over second-placed Arsenal is now nine points, and Slot hailed his side's mentality following the clash at the Vitality Stadium.
"Almost every game feels like this for me. We've had so many of our games until the end exciting and there were a few moments already this season where it felt that we're just not on the right side. All the points we've got until now I think we deserved them," added the manager.
"I have said many times already the Chelsea game, that's under debate, and maybe this game we weren't unlucky, let's put it that way, but Fulham at home being 2-2 and getting chance after chance. [Manchester] United at home getting chance after chance at 2-2. [Nottingham] Forest ending as a draw with us getting chance after chance in the end of the game.
"What I want from them and what they want from each other is that they fight in every single game from the first until the last second to get the maximum result and that's what the fans expect from them playing for this club. That's what we try to do in every single game and it's also necessary if you want to have any chance of a result in this league."
Liverpool have a record of 17 wins, five draws and one defeat from 23 Premier League matches this season.
Matt Law
