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Trent Alexander-Arnold picked up an injury during Real Madrid's La Liga clash against Athletic Club, just a few days on from being slammed by Spanish media. The former Liverpool ace was included in Xabi Alonso's starting lineup on Wednesday night, but was hauled off in the 55th minute with Raul Asencio coming on as his replacement.

Before his withdrawal, Alexander-Arnold set up Kylian Mbappe's opening strike. The French striker grabbed a second after the break, with Eduardo Camavinga also finding the net before Alexander-Arnold's enforced departure.

The England star has endured a difficult spell recently, facing harsh criticism following Real's 1-1 stalemate with Girona. Whilst the entire squad came under fire for their lacklustre performance - having also shipped three goals to Olympiacos earlier in the week - Alexander-Arnold bore the heaviest criticism.

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Prominent Spanish football writer Alfredo Relano delivered a scathing assessment of Alexander-Arnold's showing. He wrote: "Now that Trent is here, he seems like a clueless and insubstantial player, with the expression of a rabbit in the headlights.

"His quality at set pieces is masked by his right foot, but in open play he is non-existent." However, AS offered praise for his dead-ball delivery, noting that 'he is 'becoming the team's set-piece specialist under Xabi Alonso'.

Creating opportunities from corners and free-kicks could now be a challenge, as Alexander-Arnold seems to have sustained a muscle injury.

Real are set to play domestically again this weekend against Celta Vigo, before hosting Manchester City in a crucial Champions League match.

Alexander-Arnold's initial months in Madrid haven't been smooth sailing, with another injury sidelining him for several weeks.

His initial comeback game this season was against his former team, Liverpool, at Anfield, where he was met with boos from the home crowd as Real suffered a 1-0 defeat back in November.

Alonso has shown support for his summer signing after a challenging start at his new club, emphasising the player's importance to the team. Ahead of the Girona match, he stated: "Trent is a top player, and we need him.

"It's his first year, and this adjustment period is normal. He's also demanding of himself, and we have to support him through this significant change."

Liverpool seemed to manage well without him initially, winning their first six league games, but soon encountered major issues at right-back.

New signings Jeremie Frimpong and Conor Bradley have been hampered by injuries this season, leading to Curtis Jones and Dominik Szoboszlai filling in for them in that position.

However, it appears Slot may have found a solution, with Joe Gomez starting as full-back in the weekend victory over West Ham United and keeping his spot for the midweek match against Sunderland.