Owners of Trent Alexander-Arnold (£8.5m) in Fantasy Premier League have been given a headache after the Liverpool defender was ruled out “for around three weeks” with a knee injury on Tuesday afternoon.
The Reds’ right-back is the most-bought defender in the Gameweek, with 412,000+ transfers in, taking his ownership to 29 per cent ahead of Friday’s 18:15 GMT deadline.
While many managers would typically baulk at benching an £8.5m defender, his absence comes at a unique point in the season when holding Alexander-Arnold and benching him may be the best move.
With the upcoming round of matches staggered over two weeks, Liverpool’s Gameweek 21 visit to AFC Bournemouth takes place nine days after the deadline has passed.
By the time Jurgen Klopp’s side then host Chelsea in Gameweek 22, three weeks and one day will have passed since Alexander-Arnold was ruled out.
Their Gameweek 23 match with Arsenal takes place four days later, which offers hope that the Liverpool star could be back by that point.
Alexander-Arnold’s absence also comes at a time when managers are dealing with the departures of Mohamed Salah (£13.2m) and Son Heung-min (£9.8m) for international duty, along with Erling Haaland's (£13.9m) potential return to action.
Bearing in mind that both Salah and Son could be away until Gameweek 25, addressing their departures has to come first.
Midfield replacements must be the priority in Gameweek 21, while Haaland will also be a huge factor if he is fit.
By using their free transfers on the big-hitters first, owners of Alexander-Arnold can allow him the time to recover on their benches until he returns.
View all the latest FPL tips ahead of Gameweek 21 in Fantasy Premier League
