Liverpool miss Alexander-Arnold for Southampton clash, welcome back Van Dijk

The right-back was forced to withdraw from the England squad for the UEFA Nations League fixtures against Greece and the Republic of Ireland earlier this month after suffering the injury in Liverpool's 2-0 win over Aston Villa.

Alexander-Arnold has not yet resumed full training and faces a race against time to be fit for upcoming matches against Real Madrid and Manchester City.

"We are careful with everyone, especially when it comes to muscle injuries," said manager Arne Slot. "Trent isn't training with us yet but he is getting there so we expect him to be back with us soon."

Meanwhile, Van Dijk is available for selection after overcoming a medical complaint that kept him out of the Netherlands' Nations League match against Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Van Dijk had previously starred in a 4-0 win over Hungary.

"Virgil is all good," Slot said. "Training with us today. Harvey is training with us again, been out many weeks but is training with team now on the pitch.

"We always want our players available. It was a blow for him and us that he got injured for such a long time. Now we have to give him time to come back to his normal level.

"Yes, he's training with us as well but that's different to being on top of your game again. We have to give him time. But we are very fortunate he's back, especially with the amount of games that are coming up in the next two or three or four months."

Liverpool will also welcome back Harvey Elliott, who returns to the fold after a two-month absence due to a fractured foot sustained during an England U21s match in September.

However, the Reds remain without Diogo Jota, who has been sidelined since a collision with Chelsea's Tosin Adarabioyo, and Federico Chiesa, who has not featured since the League Cup win over West Ham in September.

"Jota is apart from group and it is the same with Federico, who is maybe coming back in the session with one exercise today," added Slot.

"They are all expected to be back in next few weeks but the last part of recovery is always the hardest, so let's wait and see." 

READ MORE: Man Utd primed to receive a bid for Antony