Liverpool suffer major injury worry as Arne Slot faces an anxious wait for Chelsea game

Arne Slot might have to make a late call on Alexis Mac Allister's inclusion against a week on Sunday with the midfielder facing a race against time to be fit. The playmaker remained on the bench for Argentina's draw with Venezuela on Thursday having been an injury doubt going into that 2026 World Cup qualifier.

Mac Allister was forced off at half-time with a groin complaint during Liverpool's 1-0 win over Crystal Palace last Saturday, although felt it was not sufficient to rule him out of international duty. Argentina are due to face Bolivia in the early hours of Wednesday morning.

Mac Allister - who missed training prior to that meeting with Venezuela - has not yet been withdrawn from Lionel Scaloni's squad and so could earn his 34th cap in midweek. Whether he features in the game will hand Slot an early indication of his player's fitness ahead of Chelsea.

However, even if he does not make it onto the pitch, Mac Allister faces a quick turnaround for the impending visit of the Blues. The 25-year-old faces a 12-hour flight back to Liverpool the day after the game - leaving him with only a handful of training sessions for Slot to make a call on his inclusion.

The waters would be left more muddied if Mac Allister doesn't get any game-time against Bolivia, as that would mean he would have travelled more than 7,300 miles without taking to the field. Thursday was the first game this season, club or country, that Mac Allister has sat out.

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He has played in all 10 of Liverpool's games so far this season, starting all-but one, and earned minutes in both of Argentina's World Cup qualifiers in September's break. Argentina head coach Scaloni said earlier this week that he will "have to take care" of Mac Allister, who "is a boy who comes with a lot of games".

The match against Venezuela was only the third Argentina match Mac Allister has missed in a year having played every other game (14) in that period. He has scored three times for his county, the latest of which came last month against Chile.