Mac Allister and Slot / Getty Images
Ahead of Liverpool’s Premier League clash with Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park today, manager Arne Slot has emphasised the need to build Alexis Mac Allister’s fitness gradually, citing the midfielder’s injury-plagued summer as a key factor in managing his minutes.
The 26-year-old Argentine, who took a tumble in the second half of Liverpool’s recent 3-1 win over Burnley and received treatment before being withdrawn, has been in and out of the squad during pre-season due to ongoing issues.
“He doesn’t have to recover from last season; we need to build him after having such a poor pre-season,” Slot said at his pre-match press conference.
“He missed out two or three months and the first few weeks of pre-season. That is also an example like Alex [Mac Allister, possibly referring to Alexander-Arnold or a slip for Alexis] where we try to manage his minutes to get him fit for the long term, not for the moment.
“That is maybe the difference between being a manager of a club to being a manager of a national team, where you make maybe different choices.”
Slot explained the club’s proactive approach, noting, “We are definitely looking at him in a way that we try to prepare him for three games a week because that is eventually where he needs to go to, like Alex.
“To be fair, we were all expecting him to start the first day of pre-season; that’s why we took him out in the end [of the season], to have him ready for the first day of pre-season.”
