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Federico Chiesa will miss Liverpool’s Champions League game against Inter Milan, despite Arne Slot suggesting there was still a chance of the winger joining the rest of his teammates in Italy.
Chiesa missed training on Monday ahead of the Reds flying out for their latest league phase encounter at the San Siro, having not been named in the 19-man traveling squad. It was later confirmed by Slot during his pre-match press conference that the 28-year-old was absent due to illness.
The Liverpool boss did offer some hope that Chiesa could still feature against Inter, although he did admit that it was a very slim chance.
"Federico is ill, so that is poor timing you could say. But it's not something you can do anything about,” Slot said in his pre-match press conference
"So, we are monitoring his situation. If he has an amazing recovery – which I, we, doctors don't expect – he might travel tomorrow. But let's have a fair expectation, that's not what I expect.”
It has now been confirmed (as per the Liverpool Echo’s Ian Doyle) that Chiesa has not made the journey out to Milan, which will leave the Reds severely depleted in their attacking options.
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Liverpool is of course still dealing with the aftermath of Mohamed Salah’s extraordinary outburst at the weekend, with the Egyptian having claimed that the club had “thrown him under the bus” and that his relationship with Slot had broken down.
As a result, Salah was left out of the traveling squad, with a return against Brighton at the weekend under serious doubt now despite him suggesting that could be his final game for the club.
Cody Gakpo also misses out after picking up an injury during Saturday’s draw at Leeds, with Slot revealing that he faces a few weeks out.
Wataru Endo is also out through injury, along with Jeremie Frimpong and Giovanni Leoni.
Chiesa’s illness will come as more frustration for the winger, who has had to remain patient for his opportunities under Slot. The Liverpool boss also commented on reports that Chiesa doesn’t yet feel ready to return to the Italian national team, having been contacted by Gennaro Gattuso.
“I don't think it's up to me to decide who should be selected for the national team of Italy or Holland or England,” Slot said.
“I am very happy to see Federico is in a much better place this season than he was last season; he struggled a lot last season with his fitness. This season he has been much fitter than he was last season and as a result of that he has also had more playing time than he had last season.
“The moments he played, he also had a few very good moments. Like I said, it's up to the Italian manager to decide if he wants to select him, yes or no, but I like him as a player and I like him as a person.”
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