Liverpool head coach Arne Slot has confirmed goalkeeper Alisson Becker is set to be sidelined for several weeks with a hamstring injury.

Alisson was substituted in the 56th minute of Liverpool’s 1-0 defeat to Galatasaray on Tuesday, having appeared to pick up the injury after racing back to make a save from Victor Osimhen.

He will now miss Saturday’s trip to Chelsea, with Georgia international Giorgi Mamardashvili — who signed for Liverpool in the summer of 2024 but spent last season on loan at Valencia — set to deputise in his absence.

Slot could, however, be able to call on striker Hugo Ekitike, who has avoided serious injury despite being forced off on Tuesday night and was named in Didier Deschamps’ France squad on Thursday.

Federico Chiesa could also feature against Chelsea, having missed the trip to Istanbul with a “niggle” sustained in last weekend’s defeat to Crystal Palace.

“Alisson is not part of the squad tomorrow and he won’t travel to Brazil for the national team,” Slot said in a news conference on Friday. “Hugo is going to train again today, let’s see where he is. The same can be said for Federico.”

Asked to give a time frame for Alisson’s recovery, the Liverpool boss added: “It depends on how fast the recovery goes.

“I will be surprised if he will be there for the first game after the international break [against Manchester United]. From there on things can go a bit faster a bit slower. It’s difficult to say.”

It is only the second time in Slot’s tenure that Liverpool have lost consecutive games. The Reds still have a two-point lead at the top of the Premier League table, although they could soon find themselves leapfrogged by title rivals Arsenal, who host West Ham United on Saturday before Liverpool’s visit to Stamford Bridge.

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“The reaction after losing two games in a row you can argue if that is positive,” Slot said. “But what I saw was a team playing until the last minute trying to get a result. We were different to the Palace game, winning second balls. We were, like in the Palace game, close to a result.

“I’ve said many times last season the margins are so small. That’s the same this season again. We are trying to find ways to be better and not just rely on luck or a set-piece or something.”

The Dutchman added: “By the way, if we had the same referee we had against Galatasaray, we wouldn’t have lost against Palace. Because this one blew his whistle exactly after eight minutes. But again this has nothing to do with the current results. We need to do better.”