Federico Chiesa is in a position unique to the rest of the Liverpool squad this month, which could give him an advantage after his Carabao Cup final goal.
Chiesa scored his second goal for Liverpool in the closing stages of Sunday’s 2-1 defeat to Newcastle at Wembley, amplifying calls for more game time.
Supporters are now hopeful that the Italian, who has only started in three of his 11 appearances for the club so far, could be more heavily involved in the final nine games of the campaign.
That could be boosted by the fact that Chiesa is the only fit outfield player who is not on international duty this month.
With 20 senior Liverpool players called up, the winger was the only player overlooked by his national team coach for any reason other than injury.
Chiesa left out of the Italy squad
Chiesa’s absence from the Italy squad comes due to his lack of appearances for Liverpool, with Arne Slot clearly not trusting him to either start or come on frequently from the bench.
But with the 27-year-old able to spend the next fortnight focusing on training and taking a mental break after a frustrating week for the Reds, he could return to Merseyside in a stronger position than those on duty.
Fellow forwards Mohamed Salah, Luis Diaz, Cody Gakpo, Diogo Jota and Darwin Nunez will all join their countries this week and almost certainly add to their workload for the season during World Cup qualifiers and UEFA Nations League clashes.
Having Chiesa fresh, particularly on the back of his positive impact in the Carabao Cup final, could prompt Slot to call on his No. 14 upon the restart.
That is unlikely to come as a starter, regardless of fan sentiment, but the winger seemed to prove a point with how sharp he looked in his cameo against Newcastle.
Liverpool have a 17-day break between fixtures, with their next coming at home to Everton on April 2, and they need five wins in their remaining nine Premier League games to secure the title.
Chiesa is also two games short of the five-appearance threshold to be guaranteed a medal if the Reds win the title as expected.
While he would almost certainly be given a medal either way, there is every chance Slot turns to his only summer signing more often in the final two months of the season.
The only other senior players not on international duty this month are the injured quartet of Trent Alexander-Arnold, Joe Gomez, Conor Bradley and Tyler Morton, along with goalkeeper Vitezslav Jaros.
Jaros is on the standby list for the Czech Republic, meaning he could also be called up if there are injuries to their initial selection.
Liverpool players called up for March internationals
Senior players: Alisson, Kelleher, Van Dijk, Konate, Quansah, Robertson, Tsimikas, Jones, Mac Allister, Szoboszlai, Gravenberch, Elliott, McConnell, Nyoni, Endo, Salah, Gakpo, Diaz, Jota, Nunez
Notable youth and loanees: Mamardashvili, Misciur, Bajcetic, Koumas, Ngumoha, Kone-Doherty, Figueroa, Sonni-Lambie
Left out: Jaros*, Gomez, Alexander-Arnold, Bradley, Morton, Chiesa
* Standby
