Arne Slot says Federico Chiesa is still not fit to start for Liverpool, despite including the Italian striker in his squad for Tuesday's Champions League clash against AC Milan at the San Siro.
Chiesa, 26, sealed a £10million transfer from Juventus to Liverpool during the final week of the summer window last month, a deal that made him the only addition to Slot's squad following the departure of former manager Jurgen Klopp last season.
Liverpool also signed goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili, but the Georgian international was immediately loaned out to Valencia.
Former Fiorentina man Chiesa has been plagued by a series of serious injuries since helping Italy to Euro 2020 success in 2021 and arrived at Anfield having last played a competitive game in Italy's Euro 2024 elimination against Switzerland in July.
And Liverpool boss Slot said that while Chiesa could make his first appearance against Milan, his best hope is a late start from the bench.
“He [Chiesa] “It's the first time he's been in the national team,” Slot said at the pre-match press conference in Milan. “And as I said it's the first time he's in the national team, it would be a big surprise for him and for everyone if he started tomorrow.
“So I don't think we should expect him to start, but he can get some minutes for the first time tomorrow if we need him and that's something we'll see.
“But don't expect him to be in the starting XI. He's been with Juve for a long time, training alone, and now he's been with us for a few weeks.
“He has had some training time, but it is too early for him to play 90 minutes. Hopefully he can play his first minutes in the next matches.”
Despite Chiesa's problematic recent fitness record, Slot said he can still make an impact at Liverpool when fully fit.
“I always like to bring quality players and I think he is a quality player who combines quality with enormous effort,” Slot said. “The culture of this club and the culture of this team is to work very hard when we don't have the ball.”
“And I think he brings that to his game in combination with scoring goals and being able to play in multiple positions in attack.”
