LEE CARSLEY suffered a major blow to his final England squad after Trent Alexander-Arnold went off injured.
The defender fell to the floor in the 24th minute of Liverpool‘s clash against Aston Villa.
He was then replaced by Conor Bradley a minute later.
The injury came just moments after David Coote waved away a penalty appeal for Villa after Ollie Watkins went to ground under a tackle from Ibrahima Konate.
Darwin Nunez had put the hosts ahead after going around goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez.
The 26-year-old has been a key star for the Reds under Arne Slot this season.
Alexander-Arnold has played 14 games in all competitions, including 10 starts in the Premier League.
His exploits have helped put Liverpool top of the league, a position only strengthened after Manchester City lost 2-1 to Brighton earlier in the day.
However, the injury has also dealt a major blow to Interim England boss Carsley, who will be without his starting right back for Nations League games against Greece and Ireland.
He had previously started in each of the previous four games under Carsley, getting a goal in his last outing from an experimental left-back position and an assist from right-back in the game before.
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On Friday, SunSport exclusively revealed how Alexander-Arnold’s contract talks with Liverpool over a new deal were stalling.
This is because Anfield outfit do not want to offer the academy graduate a higher wage than Mohamed Salah, 32, and Virgil van Dijk, 33.
His contract with the Reds expires next summer.
But with the club negotiating with all three players over new deals, the matter is complicated.
Liverpool have made several offers to improve Alexander- Arnold’s £180,000-a-week deal amid strong interest from Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain.
