The 2025/26 season has been a rollercoaster ride for Liverpool Football Club, as they have failed to hit the same heights we saw from them last season on their way to a 20th league title.
One of the biggest issues this season has been a worrying lack of fitness throughout the squad at various times of the season.
The latest victim is standout keeper Alisson Becker who is currently sidelined with yet another hamstring issue.
This kind of injury is nothing new for the Brazilian, but it was seemingly amplified on Friday when in his FA Cup Quarterfinal pre-match press brief, Arne Slot indicated Alisson would not be available until we got toward the end of the season.
Ali back sooner than we thought?
Understandably, fans and media were ablaze with the notion Liverpool would be without their star between the sticks for potentially the rest of the season.
However, Alisson himself took to social media to assuage some of the concerns as he stated he would be back by the end of April.
Now, for a player and coach to be that far apart on a recovery timeline is somewhat concerning, I'll still take the win that Becker could be back sooner than expected.
Even with that potential silver lining, he will still miss some marquee matches over the next month as he continues his self-described treatment phase.
It'll obviously start with Saturday's FA Cup Quarterfinal versus Manchester City and both legs of the Champions League Round of 16 clash with reigning holders, PSG.
In addition to those huge matches, he will miss out on Fulham, Everton and Crystal Palace in Premier League action. It's a tough blow for both player and club at such an important juncture of the season. The next five days could really determine just how this season will truly be viewed when all is said and done.
This means the first chance we could see Alisson make his return to the squad would be May 3 for the trip to Old Trafford to face Manchester United.
That is followed six days later with a match against Chelsea and potentially further Champions League and FA Cup action if the Reds get that far without him.
Giorgi to the Rescue
As we have written about previously, Georgian No. 1 Giorgi Mamardashvili needs to be able to take his chances when they arise at Anfield.
Alisson has missed enough action in recent years to give his understudies at least a glimmer of a runway to playing time.
Mamardashvili, while solid, has not shown his absolute best as of yet in his young Reds career. He will need to be at his very best and perhaps more, over the next fortnight if he is going to help Liverpool save their season.
He absolutely has the talent and pedigree to rise to the occasion. Now it's just a matter of doing it under the brightest of lights in football.
If Alisson is to be believed when he says he'll be back at the end of this month, than it means this is the most important four weeks that Mamardashvili will have played in a very long time.