Trent Alexander-Arnold injury latest: Liverpool star to miss Carabao Cup final but Jurgen Klopp insists he was not ‘forced back’

Trent Alexander-Arnold will be absent for Liverpool's next three games after aggravating his knee injury.

The Reds defender was substituted at half-time last time out against Burnley at Anfield, raising concerns about his fitness.

And post-match Jurgen Klopp confirmed that he had felt something in his knee and that they didn't want to risk him.

Speaking to talkSPORT after the match, he said: "He felt it a little bit, in the same area in the knee where he had the last injury, so we have to see, we have to asses that.

"He looked alright but felt it a little bit, so we had to take him off."

However, the damage had already been done and Alexander-Arnold is now set for another spell on the sidelines.

After just returning from three weeks out, the England international will play no part in Liverpool's upcoming fixtures against Brentford, Luton and Chelsea.

The recurrence of the knock has led to some questions as to whether he was brought back too soon after his layoff.

Klopp doesn't believe that was the case though, as he explained: "As long as I am here, we never forced anybody back and will never do.

"A thing we have to clarify a bit. I was not really aware of it, but I got the news that there was a discussion we might have forced Trent back because of two setbacks.

"Nobody wants that and nobody is doing that.

"But we work in a high-performance area. We always try to catch the earliest moment [when someone is injured]. Unfortunately, when we catch that early moment, nobody speaks about that.

"The last decision is always with the player, but if you always listen to the player, they would play after two weeks and it's a real problem."

Alexander-Arnold's absence will mean academy graduate Conor Bradley should come back into the Liverpool side.

Although that is depending on whether the 20-year-old Northern Irishman is okay after his father sadly passed away.

Dominik Szoboszlai is still out while Thiago is set for another spell on the sidelines at Anfield.

The Reds have been boosted by the return of Mohamed Salah though, after he played a part in full training this week.