It’s now been a week since the news emerged that Trent Alexander-Arnold is close to agreeing a free transfer to Real Madrid as his Liverpool contract drifts towards its expiry date.
The manner of the vice-captain’s impending exit has left many Kopites scorned, especially when the club had reportedly been prepared to make him the highest-paid English player in the Premier League, and a few pundits duly queued up to reprimand Reds fans for criticising the 26-year-old rather than appreciating him.
Amid the furore over his headline-grabbing career choices, the right-back has been convalescing from the ankle injury that he suffered during the Champions League defeat to Paris Saint-Germain three weeks ago.
When is Trent hoping to be back from injury?
Advanced practice physiotherapist Shane Ryan deduced at the time that the issue would require an ‘average’ layoff of six to eight weeks, and a further update has now been provided.
Writing for The Athletic on Monday, James Pearce reported that Trent is hoping to recover from his high ankle sprain by the end of April, which’d tally with the initial projection from the medical expert.
Fellow right-back Conor Bradley has also been battling back from injury, although his participation in training yesterday suggests that he could be on the verge of returning to action.
Could Trent still play for Liverpool before impending Madrid move?
If Trent is back to full fitness by the end of this month, that’d give him a chance of featuring for Liverpool before the season concludes, so maybe he hasn’t yet played his final match for the club.
In that event, it’d be quite interesting to see what reaction he gets when he next lines out at Anfield. He’s been eviscerated by many Reds fans on social media for apparently opting to leave his boyhood team on a free transfer, but the match-going faithful in L4 don’t tend to get on the backs of their own players.
Maybe the initial furore over last week’s news will have subsided by the time May comes around, and his teammates’ fortunes in the meantime could also work in his favour.
Imagine that Trent makes his comeback for the home game against Arsenal in the third-last weekend of the season and Liverpool have just been crowned champions. It’d allow fans to revel in title glory at Anfield and make up for missing out on proper celebrations in 2020.
Amid such a carnival atmosphere, jeering a player who helped the Reds to clinch the trophy would seem surprising, even when taking into account the fractious manner in which the 26-year-old looks set to sever his ties with his hometown club.
Some online supporters have insisted that he shouldn’t be allowed to play even if he’s back fit before the season ends. That decision ultimately rests with Arne Slot alone.
