Slot on Jota, team fitness and Endo deserving minutes

Liverpool boss Arne Slot has been speaking to the media before Wednesday’s Carabao Cup game against Brighton (kick-off 19:30 GMT).

Here are the key lines from his news conference:

Diogo Jota and Harvey Elliott are not expected to return until after the November international break.
Conor Bradley is training with the team so could be part of the squad on Wednesday but Alisson and Federico Chiesa remain sidelined.
He said Chiesa “goes a bit up and down” as he returns to training and then is out again. Slot added: “I don’t want to put days or weeks on it because I think we just have to make sure he gets in the best possible shape.”
On the possibility of squad rotation: “We have got some injuries so we don’t have enough players to change them all if I had wanted to.”
He said Wataru Endo “might be in the line-up” because “he also needs playing time” in order to remain competitive. Slot added: “Every time we need him, even if it is only for five minutes, he shows up for the team. So for that reason he also deserves to play.”
On opponents Brighton: “I like their playing style a lot. What makes Brighton special, in my opinion, is that they might not have the most money in the league but they always find the right ones. So they have a lot of quality.”
He said “it is a balance the club need to find” when looking at either keeping or loaning out academy players. “In certain situations you would prefer to keep them here with you to train every day but that also means they hardly play and that doesn’t lead to progression,” Slot added.

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