Former Liverpool star Trent Alexander-Arnold endured a very tricky start to life with Real Madrid and Steve McManaman believes he could be in line for better things this season

Steve McManaman believes Trent Alexander-Arnold’s injury issues have hampered him at Real Madrid - and he is now ready to shine. The England defender joined the Spanish giants on a free transfer last summer after letting his contract at Anfield run down.

He made 30 appearances across his debut season, with just 22 of those being starts. Alexander-Arnold suffered two separate injuries last term - a hamstring injury seeing him miss five league games, while a muscle tear kept him sidelined for a further seven.

Former Liverpool and Real Madrid star McManaman has now offered his take on the defender’s issues and believes the club will now start to see the best of him now he’s fit.

Speaking to Sport, he said: “He’s fine. I speak to him, and he’s fine. He’s settled in well. The problem is that he had a lot of injuries last year. That was the problem.

“He had physical issues, and the team weren’t at their best either. I think he should be fine this year.

“Although, again, it’s going to be tough against Barcelona. Barcelona have signed some good players. He played the other day and did very well. I don’t need to give Trent any advice.

“He knows what he has to do. He knows he has to learn the language, settle in and enjoy his life in Madrid. And he’s doing just that. He’s got good friends there. I don’t think he’ll have any problems.”

Alexander-Arnold might have found an excellent opportunity to break into the team over the coming days, with Real Madrid currently in the grips of a midfield crisis. Bernardo Silva is suspended alongside Arda Guler and Eduardo Camavinga for the Champions League clash with Inter Milan.

Aurelien Tchouameni and Thiago Pitarch are also both ruled out through injury, which could see Jose Mourinho use Alexander-Arnold as an emergency midfielder. Discussing the defender, the Portuguese coach claimed that he is better playing alongside big money summer signing Yan Diomande as opposed to fellow arrival Denzel Dumfries.

"The team has always been good," Mourinho is quoted as saying by AS. "I haven't seen the stats, but we created a lot. We missed three or four clear chances and their goalkeeper made three or four impressive saves.

"I didn't make changes because I wasn't happy; they were to take off the players who had been booked. It's better to play with Trent and Yan Diomande than with Denzel Dumfries."