Slot responds to Mamardashvili injury which sent Liverpool goalkeeper to hospital

Arne Slot revealed Liverpool goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili went "straight to hospital" after he was injured in the Merseyside derby at the weekend, and the club "fear the worst" for next week.

Reds keeper Mamardashvili has been starting in place of injured No.1 Alisson of late, having started the last five games in all competitions. But against Everton, he was forced off after 58 minutes, as in the process of the Toffees scoring their goal in the 2-1 Liverpool victory, striker Beto's momentum as he poked the ball home carried him into the keeper, opening up a wound.

After the match, Liverpool boss Slot stated the Georgian went straight to hospital and could miss the visit of Crystal Palace as a result.

He said: “It didn’t look great. It was a big wound and he went straight to the hospital. Let’s see how that works out for him, but we fear the worst – not for a long-term injury but for next week.

“We’ve had almost, in all positions, our problems and now even two goalkeepers being out.

“So it’s a good thing that we have three goalkeepers, because we usually don’t have three full-backs or three No.9s or three left wingers, and now it happens in a position where we have three players.”

Slot has also suggested that Alisson is expected to return "in the final weeks of the season" but did not suggest he'd be fit to take back over from Mamardashvili against Palace.

As such, Freddie Woodman - the 29-year-old who joined from Preston in the summer and played the final 32 minutes of the Everton game - is expected to make his full Premier League debut, after his full Liverpool debut came in the League Cup against the weekend's opponents, Palace, in October.

Slot will enjoy derby victory

Despite the injury of Mamardashvili and the season largely being done, with Champions League football all but confirmed at Anfield and nothing else left to play for, Slot is going to enjoy winning the first Merseyside derby at Everton's new Hill Dickinson Stadium.

He said: “We are going to enjoy. My staff, my players and me.

“There is no difference between us and the fans; we would have loved to have had a better season than we’ve had. But for obvious reasons, we haven’t, and we saw that today.

“How many times have you had two goalkeepers injured? That has been our season, but we managed to win, and that’s the most important thing.”