FILE PHOTO: Soccer Football - Premier League - Ipswich Town v Liverpool - Portman Road, Ipswich, Britain - August 17, 2024 Liverpool's Harvey Elliott inside the stadium before the match REUTERS/David Klein
LIVERPOOL (Reuters) - Liverpool will be without midfielder Harvey Elliott for several weeks due to a fractured foot, manager Arne Slot said on Friday, disappointing news for the club ahead of a gruelling stretch of seven games across three competitions over the next three weeks.
Slot is expecting to have Alexis Mac Allister back on Saturday, however, as his men look to continue their perfect start to the Premier League when they host Nottingham Forest.
"Harvey's injury is, of course, not a just big disappointment for him but also for us," Slot told reporters on Friday. "He didn't play a lot in the first three games but he showed himself really well in pre-season.
"He would have had a lot of playing time in the upcoming fixtures but that goes to someone else."
Mac Allister returned to training on Thursday, Slot said, adding: "I'm expecting Macca to be with us (Saturday)."
Liverpool and title holders Manchester City are the league's only two teams to have won their first three matches, a terrific start at Anfield for Slot, who replaced long-time manager Juergen Klopp.
The league resumes after an international break, and the Dutchman was optimistic his players will not have lost momentum.
"If you saw them play with their national team then the moment is still there."
Slot said there was no news on the contracts of Virgil van Dijk, Mohamed Salah and Trent Alexander-Arnold:
"It's again the boring answer that you'll get from me. We don't talk about contract news here," Slot said. "It is not disruptive because we work with the team and try to get the best out of them."
Slot was asked about Ireland goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher's future at the club, following his comments about wanting to be a "number one".
"I would be really worried if a player came out and said I don't care about playing first-team football," the manager said. "It's normal they want to play and it's also normal for a club like this to have more than 11 players who want to play.
"It's a good place to be and he's shown many times that he's ready whenever we need him. Who knows if he'll play for us in the future, but it's quite clear that Alisson is the number one for this moment."
Forest have had a decent start to the season too, with one win and a pair of draws.
(Reporting by Lori Ewing in Manchester; Editing by Kevin Liffey)
