Alexis Mac Allister played his first 90 minutes since April in Argentina’s 1-0 defeat to Ecuador, despite his manager admitting Liverpool’s No. 10 is not “100 percent fit.”

Mac Allister had a disrupted pre-season due to an injury he carried from the end of last season, and he has since played 133 of the 270 minutes of Premier League action so far.

He was still called up to represent Argentina and spent the entirety of the first match on the bench, but he started and played the full 90 against Ecuador overnight.

This is despite his manager Lionel Scaloni admitting “he is not 100 percent fit,” and the watching South American media did not exactly hold back on their assessment of Mac Allister.

BolaVIP described the 26-year-old as looking “physically diminished” due to coming into the match lacking full fitness, rating his performance a four-out-of-10.

Mac Allister was used as the most advanced midfielder, playing behind striker Lautaro Martinez, and Diario Ole assessed that “he wasn’t convincing and didn’t make an impact on the game.”

Having not completed 90 minutes since the trip to Leicester in April, it is understandable that Mac Allister is still finding his feet and match sharpness.

The reviews of his performance weren’t to say that he was not busy on the night, though, making the joint-most tackles (four), the most recoveries (eight), and winning the second-most duels (seven), as per FotMob.

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With the Argentine having seemingly come out of the defeat unscathed, despite the tense affair that saw a player sent off from both sides and Mac Allister clash with Piero Hincapie, his minutes may prove beneficial for Liverpool.

Arne Slot‘s side play seven games in 21 days across three different competitions, and he will need the depth of his squad, especially if Mac Allister’s minutes are still to be managed.

Mac Allister will be among the last to report back for training on Thursday, alongside the likes of Alisson and Wataru Endo, and his involvement at Burnley may be weighed up against keeping him fresh for Atletico Madrid’s visit.