Liverpool’s start to life under Arne Slot could hardly have been any better.

The Reds sit top of the Premier League with a five-point lead over Manchester City, and have a 100% record in the Champions League. The only concern for Slot has been the number of injuries picked up in the early months of the season, although he’s expecting to get a key player back fairly soon.

Speaking to reporters on Friday, Slot confirmed that Trent Alexander-Arnold is close to a return: “Trent isn’t training with us yet but he’s getting there so we expect him to be back with us soon.”

Asked whether the Englishman might feature in upcoming games against Real Madrid or Man City, Slot replied: “That is something that we have to wait and see. The last few days of a recovery are always the ones that are most tricky, because they have to go from isolated training sessions to full training sessions.”

Alexander-Arnold has been out since picking up a hamstring injury in Liverpool 2-0 win over Aston Villa earlier this month.

Arne Slot gives Liverpool injury updates

The Liverpool right back is not the only one in the Anfield medical room at the moment. Goalkeeper Alisson Becker and forward Diogo Jota have both been out for more than a moth and neither look likely to return in the coming days.

“The only thing I can say is that with Alisson and with Jota, I don’t expect them to be available for that game,” Slot said, when asked if the duo could be involved in next week’s Real Madrid clash.

However Liverpool will be bolstered by the news that Virgil Van Djik is back to full fitness and will start this weekend against Southampton.

There was good news on the fitness of Harvey Elliott, the young forward who impressed towards the end of last season. He suffered a broken foot back in September but appears to have recovered well and could soon be back in contention.

Slot explained: “Harvey is training with us again, that’s the positive thing, he’s on the training ground again with the team, that’s a positive thing for him.”