Argentina boss Lionel Scaloni has revealed that Alexis Mac Allister is training separately and may be unavailable for the side’s World Cup qualifying clash with Venezuela due to injury.
Mac Allister has started every match for Liverpool in the Premier League and Champions League this season but was forced off with a groin problem at half-time in the Reds’ 1-0 victory over Crystal Palace last weekend.
However, the 25-year-old midfielder joined the rest of Argentina’s squad at Inter Miami’s Florida Blue Training Center in preparation for Thursday’s qualifier with Venezuela in Maturin.
There has been some uncertainty over whether the match will take place, though, with Hurricane Milton wreaking havoc and forcing flight cancelations across the east coast of the Unites States.
‘The game is important but the safety issue is even more important. We are worried and we are waiting to see if we can in fact travel tomorrow as planned,’ Argentina head coach Scaloni told reporters.
‘It will be difficult for us. We will arrive just one day before the game and we have to make a stop because they are not allowing flights from United States soil directly to Venezuela.
‘These are things that do not depend on us. We have had bad luck with this situation. But the most important thing is the safety and health for the players and the rest of us.’
Mac Allister has so far been unable to join his team-mates in training since touching down in Florida and Scaloni is reluctant to test the midfielder’s fitness before he has proven beyond doubt that he is ready.
‘He is training separately. We’ll see if he makes it for the first game against Venezuela,’ Scaloni explained when asked for an update on Mac Allister.
‘For now, he hasn’t been able to join us and so we will make the decision as to whether he is part of the squad, on the bench or if he plays on Thursday. But it’s difficult for him to make it today.
‘I think we have to take care of him. He’s a guy who has a lot of games under his belt and that’s the situation today. We hope we don’t lose any more players because the situation can change later.’
Should he be ruled out against Venezuela, Mac Allister will no doubt be chomping at the bit to impress when Argentina play host to Bolivia in Buenos Aires in a week’s time.
There are also important games on the horizon for Mac Allister at club level, with Liverpool set to do battle with Chelsea and Arsenal in their next two games in the Premier League.
After Liverpool’s win at Selhurst Park, Arne Slot admitted Mac Allister could have continued but he did not want to take an uneccesary risk with the World Cup winner.
‘He went off because of an injury. How bad? It is difficult for me to judge,’ the Liverpool manager explained at his post-match press conference.
‘He could have continued playing… but he didn’t think it was good to because you never know if you will make it worse.’
Alisson also came off injured in Liverpool’s defeat of Palace and the Merseyside giants are expected to be without the goalkeeper until late November.
It means the Brazilian is likely to be absent for Liverpool’s matches with Chelsea (Premier League), RB Leipzig (Champions League), Arsenal (Premier League), Brighton (Carabao Cup), Brighton (Premier League), Bayer Leverkusen (Champions League) and Aston Villa (Premier League).
Harvey Elliott is Liverpool’s only other serious injury concern, with the midfieldercurrently sidelined due to a broken foot.
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