Injured Caoimhín Kelleher unable to capitalise on likely Alisson absence for Manchester City battle

City and Liverpool clash in the Community Shield but No 1 ’keeper Alisson has missed the Reds’ pre-season with an abdominal injury, and was absent again for last night’s friendly against Salzburg.

That could have opened the door for Kelleher to deputise, but he has also been out injured and was not involved against Salzburg, with third-choice Adrian asked to fill in.

Kelleher stayed on Merseyside for treatment while the squad travelled to Singapore for the first part of their pre-season schedule.

Klopp did not want to risk Alisson for the Salzburg friendly but has not ruled him out of contention for the weekend game against City, although he’s likely to err on the side of caution and rest his first choice ’keeper.

“From the boys who are injured but are here, ‘Ali’ is the closest – definitely not for Salzburg but then we will see. He is close to getting back I think,” Klopp said.

Kelleher had a strong finish to last season, playing every minute of the four games with Ireland in the Nations League in June despite competition from Mark Travers.

But with Gavin Bazunu now almost certain to be playing first-team football at Southampton in the coming season, and Travers also set to be first choice for a Premier League side, Kelleher will want to assess his own status at club level.