Burnley 0-1 Liverpool: Arne Slot explains Alexis Mac Allister substitution after injury scare

Arne Slot has issued a reassuring update on Alexis Mac Allister after the Argentina international was substituted at half time in Sunday's 1-0 Premier League win over Burnley.

Mac Allister was the victim of a crunching challenge from Lesley Ugochukwu in the first half, as the former Chelsea midfielder caught the South American on the right ankle with his studs.

Mac Allister needed treatment for a few minutes after that tackle from Ugochukwu, who escaped with a yellow card but was then eventually sent off in the second half for a second bookable offence.

In between Ugochukwu's two indiscretions, Mac Allister was withdrawn at half time by Slot, who brought on Conor Bradley in his place as Dominik Szoboszlai swapped his makeshift right-back role for his more familiar midfield position.

At the time, Mac Allister's change appeared to have been due to the impact of Ugochukwu's tackle, raising fears about his availability for Wednesday's Champions League opener at home to Atletico Madrid.

Slot eases Mac Allister injury fears after early Liverpool change

However, speaking to reporters in his post-game press conference, Slot denied that Mac Allister had to be withdrawn due to injury; rather, the 26-year-old's minutes are still being managed following a disrupted start to the campaign.

"It is similar to Alex [Isak] but in a completely different way," Slot said. "He missed a lot of pre-season, so he is ready for one game a week, maybe [for] 70 to 90. He played 90 for Argentina and he was really tired after 70.

"He doesn’t have the right build-up towards playing three games a week for 90 minutes, so it was always sure today that I would take him off after 60 minutes for him to be able to be back on the pitch again on Wednesday and for him to be on Saturday back on the pitch again.

"I had already made one substitution in the first half, so if I then take him off at 60 minutes that would be my second one. If I then want to make [another on] 75 then in end I can do nothing anymore.

“So, that combined with the fact the tackle was a tackle he felt – and I am not surprised by the fact he felt that tackle, by the way – it was a combination of both. He said it was fine and good enough to go on, although he limped a lot, so that was more his mentality I think than it was he could actually perform at his best for 15 minutes longer."

Will Alexander Isak make his Liverpool debut against Atletico?

Barring any late complications, Mac Allister should be given the green light to appear in Wednesday's visit of Atletico, where the Anfield crowd will no doubt be desperate to catch a glimpse of Alexander Isak in action.

Despite playing 18 minutes for Sweden during the international break, Liverpool's record signing was not considered for selection against Burnley, having not had any sort of pre-season amid the rollercoaster transfer saga.

However, Slot strongly suggested pre-match that Isak would be part of the squad to face Diego Simeone's side this week, although a start is almost certainly out of the question for Liverpool's new £125m marksman.

Instead, Hugo Ekitike will be expected to continue as Liverpool's central striker for the time being, although he struggled to make his mark against Burnley before being substituted in the second half.

If Mac Allister is passed fit for the European battle, the Reds may only be missing one player in the shape of Curtis Jones, who picked up an unspecified injury against Arsenal last month.