Liverpool are once again facing into a crunch period without first-choice goalkeeper Alisson with the Brazilian picking up an injury at Crystal Palace on Saturday.
The 32-year-old dropped with a hamstring injury in the closing stages of Liverpool's 1-0 victory at Selhurst Park, with ex-St. Pat's shot-stopper Viteszlav Jaros replacing him between the sticks.
Liverpool have now confirmed that Alisson will be missing for at least seven games, with the club confirming that he will not return until after the November international window.
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It is not ideal timing for Arne Slot's side to lose their first-choice 'keeper, with the next month seeing games against Arsenal, Chelsea, Bayer Leverkusen, and Aston Villa. Immediately after his scheduled return, Liverpool have back-to-back fixtures against Real Madrid and Manchester City to prepare for.
This marks the second major lay-off Alisson has suffered in as many seasons, having missed over two months of action last season with another hamstring injury.
There has been much grumbling in recent months about the issue of playing second fiddle for Irishman Caoimhín Kelleher at Anfield. However, one glance at Alisson's injury record suggests that Kelleher may have enjoyed more game time as second-choice at Liverpool in recent years than he may have at other major clubs.
Ireland legend John Aldridge shared his belief this week that Alisson's injury problems are happening "too often" - and that the club are lucky to have a back-up as capable as Kelleher waiting in the wings.
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Liverpool FC: John Aldridge thinks Alisson issues happening "a little too often"
Writing in his column in the Liverpool Echo, former Reds and Ireland striker John Aldridge commented on the increasingly frequent injury issues suffered by Alisson Becker in recent seasons.
Aldridge said that previous goalkeeping legends at the club would have played for years straight without suffering as much as a single injury, and said that the presence of Caoimhín Kelleher waiting in the wings was fortunate for Liverpool.
Is it time to start worrying about the injury record of Alisson Becker? Once again, the Liverpool goalkeeper has been struck by a hamstring problem having pulled up towards the end of the win at Crystal Palace on Saturday.
There’s no doubt Alisson is a bit unfortunate. But it’s happening a little too often for my liking, certainly when compared to goalkeepers of the past at the club.
Let’s hope Alisson can get over this as soon as possible because he is so important to us.
It helps that the person replacing him is probably the best second-choice keeper in England and maybe Europe, and would walk into most other Premier League starting line-ups.
Even though he could expect to start regularly at many other Premier League clubs, Caoimhín Kelleher has still enjoyed a surprising amount of game time as Alisson's back-up in recent years.
Patience is surely set to begin to wear thin for the Irishman, however, with Kelleher last month openly sharing his frustration that he could not secure a move away from Anfield over the summer.
With Georgian goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili also waiting in the wings, there are interesting times ahead for Liverpool's goalkeeping situation.
