Trent Alexander-Arnold suffers significant injury blow as Real Madrid confirm issue | OneFootball

Real Madrid have confirmed Trent Alexander-Arnold picked up a hamstring injury in Tuesday’s Champions League opener and he will face a number of weeks on the sidelines.

Alexander-Arnold was making his Champions League debut for Real against Marseille at the Bernabeu but he went down injured after just three minutes as it became apparent he wouldn’t be able to continue.

He was replaced on the five-minute mark by veteran defender Dani Carvajal, who has generally been preferred as the starter at right-back in LaLiga this term, although the 33-year-old was later sent off.

Real boss Xabi Alonso initially said he was “going to wait a bit” with Alexander-Arnold’s injury as “it might not be as bad as it seems” but Los Blancos have now confirmed a hamstring issue and reports suggest he may be out for up to eight weeks.

Real said in a statement: “Following tests carried out today by the Real Madrid medical services on our player, Trent Alexander-Arnold, he has been diagnosed with a muscle injury to the biceps femoris in his left leg. Further updates will follow.”

Although he will be suspended for Champions League matches, Carvajal may be able to get an even greater leg up over Alexander-Arnold in league matches now that the Englishmen is out injured.

“It’s a really good competition [between the two players],” Alonso said last month of the battle for the starting right-back berth. “I like having that in each position, two players who want to show what they can do. It's really good for the squad.”

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Trent Alexander-Arnold went down injured less than five minutes into Real Madrid’s game against Marseille (Getty Images)

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Real boss Xabi Alonso tried to console the frustrated Englishman (AFP via Getty Images)

It has been a patchy start to life in the Spanish capital for Alexander-Arnold and the 26-year-old was most recently left out of Thomas Tuchel’s squad for England’s World Cup qualifiers in September.

Alexander-Arnold left boyhood club Liverpool on frosty terms in the summer, departing towards the end of his contract after 20 years at the club he grew up supporting.

While his parting memory was lifting the Premier League title, he was notably booed by Liverpool fans in the game that followed the announcement of his departure, a 2-2 draw with Arsenal in May.

He may have been bracing himself for a hostile reception upon his return to Anfield in the Champions League after Liverpool and Real Madrid were drawn to face each other on Tuesday 4 November but he now faces a race against time to be fit for that clash.