Despite posting photos of himself on crutches, receiving stitches, and sporting a leg brace on social media, Alexis Mac Allister, the Argentine midfielder for Liverpool, has a knee injury that is not reason for concern.
The 24-year-old was substituted early in the second half of Sheffield United’s game last Wednesday after taking a nasty cut to his knee during a poor tackle. He did not play in Saturday’s match against Crystal Palace.
Following a deep cut to his knee that required two stitches, manager Jurgen Klopp commented last Friday that Mac Allister’s condition “doesn’t look good.” Some fans were concerned that the midfielder’s Tuesday afternoon social media update might be a more serious injury.
Mac Allister shared pictures of himself receiving stitches last week and using crutches to watch a football game at home while wearing a brace on his knee on Instagram. However, the midfield player is currently following a thorough rehabilitation regimen due to severe knee swelling and bruises.
Because of his photos, some fans were afraid that Mac Allister had ligament damage, but this is untrue—he just had an impact injury. The midfield player wanted to demonstrate the recuperation procedures being followed in order to eventually regain full fitness.
Mac Allister will miss Liverpool’s trip to Brussels for their final Europa League group-stage match against Union Saint-Gilloise, though the Reds have not set a timetable for his recovery. They had already won the group, so he wasn’t expected to be in that anyway.
Although Klopp made light of the situation last week by saying, “It is not that serious, but we’re in the period of the year where, if you’re out for five days it’s 12 games pretty much,” Mac Allister will still be viewed as a major doubt for Saturday’s match against Manchester United.
