Arne Slot has had to backtrack on his initial plans for one Liverpool player during the international break, although he’ll be quite happy to do so in this instance.
Darwin Nunez had been set to miss Uruguay’s 2026 World Cup qualifiers against Peru and Ecuador over the coming days due to a five-match ban imposed on him over his involvement in a fracas with Colombian spectators during the Copa America in the summer.
However, his national federation succeeded with an appeal for the suspension to be lifted, freeing the 25-year-old to link up with Marcelo Bielsa’s squad this week (Daily Mail).
Slot had wanted Nunez to team up with Uruguay
As per Liverpool Echo, Slot had indicated on Friday (before the announcement about Nunez’s ban being lifted) that he’d prefer to see the striker leaving for international duty than being forced to remain on Merseyside.
He also revealed that he’d planned to involve our number 9 in a potential behind-closed-doors fixture for the Reds players who aren’t on national team duty this week, with a view to maintaining their sharpness before the club season resumes.
The LFC head coach said: “I would have preferred him to go because I think it is always good for a player to go to his national team. They like to see their team-mates again.
“He would have probably played two games, at least one, but I think both because he is a starter over there and, like you guys are telling me constantly, he hasn’t started that much over here. It would have been good for him to get some playing time there.
“I don’t think it is a good thing for a player being suspended. It’s a good thing for a player to go and see his team-mates, get energy over there, get some playing time.”
Nunez should get some welcome game-time this week
Uruguay’s appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport is temporary, with the organisation still set to review the case further before deciding whether or not to reinstate the remaining three matches of the original suspension (Daily Mail).
However, Nunez will be relieved to have been cleared for national team duty for this month, and despite not starting much for Liverpool this season he’ll likely go straight into the line-up for the game against Peru on Thursday night (Friday morning UK time).
Ordinarily club bosses probably wouldn’t be overly enthusiastic about seeing their players depart for international action mid-season, particularly when transatlantic travel is involved, but the 25-year-old’s sporadic involvement for the Reds means that more game-time would be beneficial rather than detrimental.
Slot must be hoping that the ex-Benfica marksman finds the net for Uruguay over the coming days, having done so just once for LFC so far this term, and that he’ll return to Merseyside buoyed by his involvement with La Celeste.
For Nunez, this is the perfect chance to banish the dark memories of that Copa America semi-final in July, along with sending a pointed message to his Liverpool boss ahead of a tough set of fixtures after the international break.