Liverpool receive major boost for Trent Alexander-Arnold return as Real Madrid defender ruled out for three months

Liverpool were drawn against LaLiga giants Real Madrid during last month's league phase ballot.

The Reds host Xabi Alonso's side at Anfield on November 4 later this year, but the visitors will be without one of their key defenders for the clash.

Alonso will not be the only ex-Liverpool man making a return to his old stomping ground as Trent Alexander-Arnold returns to Merseyside for the first time in a professional capacity.

Real Madrid missing key defender for Liverpool visit

The academy graduate swapped Liverpool for Madrid this past summer, leaving on an initial free transfer at the end of his Reds contract.

Real Madrid subsequently paid €10 million (£8.4 million) to acquire the defender one month before the expiry of his deal in order to have him available for the FIFA Club World Cup.

Alexander-Arnold's exit rankled among some sections of the Liverpool fanbase, who believed he did not go about leaving the club in the right manner.

Others, however, took the view that Alexander-Arnold had the right to pursue the best contract offer and a new challenge having won the Champions League and Premier League titles with his boyhood club.

The England international has featured in each of Real's first three LaLiga matches this season, maintaining a 100 per cent record at Santiago Bernabeu.

One of Alexander-Arnold's teammates will play no part in the Anfield fixture, after it was revealed Antonio Rudiger has sustained a muscle injury to his left leg.

Rudiger is set to be sidelined for approximately three months, according to Fabrizio Romano, meaning he will be absent for the trip to Liverpool.

The ex-Chelsea man has played a minimum of 48 matches for Real Madrid in each of his three seasons in the Spanish capital, playing 50 times across all competitions last term.

His injury leaves Madrid with Dean Huijsen and Eder Militao as the two primary central defenders, supported by David Alaba and Aurelien Tchouameni, although neither member of the latter pairing are considered natural centre-backs.

Liverpool topped the league phase standings last season and will be aiming for a top-eight finish once more this year.