With Liverpool first choice goalkeeper Alisson Becker currently sidelined with a hamstring injury that has kept him out of the last six matches, it has been an opportunity for Giorgi Mamardashvili to step into the starting role for the Reds. Against Everton, though, Mamardashvili himself suffered a knee injury.
Today, reports out of Georgia have set out a likely three-week absence for Mamardashvili. That news has since been corroborated by The Athletic, who say that sources within the club expect
a two- to four-week layoff for the stopper. It’s a timeline that could see the player fit for the final two matches of the 2025-26 season.
It’s a timeline that also likely means Alisson will return before Mamardashvili. However, a return this Saturday when the Reds welcome Crystal Palace to Anfield has already been ruled out, meaning that third-choice stopper Freddie Woodman will get the nod and with it his first start since joining the Reds last summer.
Woodman impressed when called upon to replace Mamardashvili against Everton on Sunday, and the Croydon-born goalkeeper has an unusual profile for a third-choice given he signed for the club last summer as a 28-year-old on the back of three seasons in a row where he made 40+ appearances in the Championship.
While a Championship starter will inevitably be seen as a step down from the likes Alisson and Mamardashvili, it’s more typical for a third-choice to be player nearing the end of his career with limited starting options at any pro level and Woodman is arguably a stronger option than many Premier League backups.
