Real Madrid head coach Xabi Alonso has confirmed that Trent Alexander-Arnold is available to face the defender’s former club Liverpool.The two clubs are set to face each other on the fourth matchday of the league phase of the Champions League at Anfield on Tuesday.Alexander-Arnold hasn’t played for Madrid since suffering an injury in their opening Champions League game against Marseille on September 16, and The Athletic reported on Monday that he is not expected to start against his boyhood club despite Dani Carvajal’s injury.The 27-year-old has missed his side’s last nine matches in all competitions, but has been an unused substitute for Madrid’s previous two La Liga fixtures.
Alexander-Arnold joined Madrid from Liverpool this summer, with the Spanish club paying €10million (£8.4m; $11.4m) to acquire the Englishman before his contract with the Premier League side expired, so he could feature at the Club World Cup. He made 354 appearances for the Merseyside club before moving, winning two Premier League titles and a Champions League.“He’s fine, he didn’t play the other day because of the context of the match, he’s available for any minute, for any match,” Alonso said at his pre-match news conference on Monday.“We need him, he’s in a new phase and we have to help him, give him what he needs to perform.”Alonso is also returning to Liverpool, having featured for the Merseyside club for five years before joining Madrid in 2009.“It influenced me a lot, it had a lot of substance,” Alonso said of his time with Liverpool. “I learned a lot about elite football, about thinking about matches, not just playing them during those five years with Rafa (Benitez).“They were very good years that helped me a lot as a player and as a coach. I still remember those days.”
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