Explained: Why Trey Nyoni was absent from Liverpool’s open training session

There were four notable absentees at Liverpool’s open training session on Sunday, two of which were unexpected but not to be majorly concerned over.

After Curtis Jones went off injured against Real Betis after half an hour, it wasn’t surprising to see him miss Sunday’s training session in Philadelphia.

What was more unexpected, however, was the absence of his replacement, Trey Nyoni.

Liverpool supporters lauded his performance against Betis as he was the Reds’ standout performer during the 40 minutes he played.

Arne Slot was also pleased with his display but urged caution with the 17-year-old, saying: “Trey did well, he was involved in the goal with a spot on pass between the lines and he was involved in our biggest chance in the second half.

“He’s only just turned 17 and his body still has to grow. We are really careful with him, he doesn’t join every session.

“You can see his quality. He needs some time to grow to play at Premier League level but he’s an interesting player.”

With Liverpool undertaking two sessions on Sunday – the second being behind closed doors – the decision was simply made to give Nyoni and 18-year-old Ben Doak a rest for the first session at least.

Paul Gorst of the Liverpool Echo reported: “Ben Doak and Trey Nyoni sitting it out too with Arne Slot keen not to put too much strain on the teenagers at this stage.”

Aside from Jones, Doak and Nyoni, Andy Robertson and James McConnell were the only members of the Travelling squad to miss training.

Robertson remains with the squad but is managing his fitness so will be unable to play against Arsenal and Man United.

“He is not fully fit yet,” said Slot on Thursday. “But we are expecting him in the end of the tour – maybe just after the tour – to be fully fit again.

“He took a small injury into the Euros and afterwards he had to recover from that after playing those games. But we will expect him back after our tour – but he joined us already.”

On McConnell, the youngster was also absent from the Betis match due to a “minor injury issue,” reported the Athletic journalist James Pearce.

Liverpool squad pictured in Sunday’s open training

Goalkeepers: Kelleher, Jaros, Pitaluga, Davies

Defenders: Quansah, Van den Berg, Phillips, Nallo, Bradley, Tsimikas, Chambers, Beck

Midfielders: Szoboszlai, Endo, Elliott, Bajcetic, Morton, Stephenson

Forwards: Salah, Carvalho, Gordon, Koumas, Blair, Jota

Not involved: Jones, Doak, Nyoni, Robertson, McConnell