Ireland’s Caoimhín Kelleher is set for an extended spell in Liverpool’s first team as goalkeeper, with Alisson out for at least a month.
Brazil manager Dorival Junior has said that Alisson will not be available for the country’s international fixtures at the end of March due to injury.
Liverpool face Luton tonight in the Premier League before facing Chelsea in the Carabao Cup on Sunday. They then have Southampton in the fifth round of the FA Cup before Nottingham Forest in the league. There will be two Europa League last 16 legs to navigate, then there will be two vital games for Liverpool - against title rivals Manchester City at Anfield on March 10th, then a Merseyside Derby at Goodison Park on St Patrick’s Day before the international break.
Klopp has said he thinks the Cork native should be first-choice goalkeeper for Ireland.
“I don’t know exactly who is the number one for Ireland but if they have a better goalkeeper, respect. He’s outstanding. This year we gave him more games than he had previously. It’s well deserved,” he said.
Klopp was impressed with his performance in last weekend’s 4-1 victory at Brentford, where Kelleher made five saves.
“He was outstanding. We need him. We need him with rhythm. We will see how long Alisson is out, but Caoimhin is exceptional. He had an A+ performance.”
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