Caoimhin Kelleher will be forced to step up in place of Alisson Becker for Liverpool in the coming weeks.
The Brazilian shot-stopper suffered a hamstring injury in the 1-0 victory at Crystal Palace on Saturday afternoon and was replaced by the Reds third-choice goalkeeper Vitezslav Jaros with Kelleher out through illness.
When Arne Slot was asked about the severity of the injury, he stated "We have to wait and see, but it is going to take a few weeks I assume for him to be back. I think it is [his hamstring]."
Since then, it has been confirmed that Alisson will be out of action until at least November, which is not ideal especially considering the tough run of form the Reds face throughout the coming months.
Fixtures Alisson is set to miss
To put it into context, it is guaranteed that the number one will miss fixtures against Chelsea, RB Leipzig, Arsenal and Brighton.
With that only covering the fixtures that fall in October, there is also a high chance that the stopper could also miss games against Aston Villa, Real Madrid and Leverkusen.
When the 32-year-old has missed periods of games due to injury previously, it has been Kelleher who has stepped up in recent years.
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Is Alisson’s injury a big blow for the Reds?
When you look into how the Merseyside outfit fare when Kelleher has had to step up, you will be pleasantly surprised, to say the least.
In the 16 games Kelleher has started as a replacement for Alisson, Liverpool’s win percentage with the Brazilian sits at 68.6 per cent whilst beginning with the Irish international has seen the Reds win 66.7 per cent of their games.
This sees the Reds average more points per game with Kelleher in the lineup with 2.3 points compared to 2.2 with Alisson, having won 11 drawn four whilst only losing one.
It has been well-documented that Kelleher is craving the idea of getting his hand on more game time even admitting that he wants to leave the club to do so.
In the past, excluding the sixteen games the Irishmen has played in the Premier League in Alisson’s absence, Jurgen Klopp vowed to use Kelleher in the Carabao Cup, a competition that the Reds won twice whilst he was at the helm.
During the competition, Kelleher showed the world that he is arguably the best deputy keeper in the world.
If you cast your mind back to the previous Carabao Cup final against Chelsea, it was he who ensured that the game made it to extra time after thwarting the Blues on multiple occasions throughout the match.
Although Alisson is said to be the best in the world at this current moment, that isn’t to say he is necessarily irreplaceable.
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Liverpool’s tough period is just around the corner
Liverpool have started life under Slot in almost perfect fashion, winning nine out of their 10 games so far in all competition.
It has been reported that Alisson is set to be out until 24 November meaning he will miss a tough run of games consequently, which includes three of the current top five clubs in the league as well as tough fixtures in both the Champions League and the EFL Cup.
After the international break has commenced, the Reds first game back will be Enzo Maresca’s Chelsea at home, who currently sit fourth in the league.
Following on from that, Liverpool will travel to Germany to face RB Leipzig in the Champions League before visiting fellow title contenders Arsenal at the Emirates.
If you thought that was bad enough, Slot’s men will then take on the high-flying Seagulls twice in four days, before jetting off to Germany again, this time with Xabi Alonso’s Bayer Leverkusen standing in their way.
And just to put the cherry on the icing, Aston Villa is the last team that Slot’s side will face before the November international break is set to start.
Although the tough fixtures are piling up on Slot’s men in quick succession, if the past is anything to go by, the Liverpool faithful should remain in high spirits, especially knowing the ability that Kelleher has shown when asked to step up.
