Jurgen Klopp has suffered a huge injury, as Liverpool defenders Virgil van Dijk, Joe Gomez, Joel Matip and Trent Alexander-Arnold are all very close to full recovery.
Van Dijk, Gomez and Matip have all been absent for a long time after suffering injuries last season, while Alexander-Arnold was forced to withdraw from the England squad with a minor muscle jump.
However, Klopp expects Matip and Alexander-Arnold to return to the pitch against Stuttgart on Tuesday. And he also disturbed reports that there had been a flare-up with Gomez’s knee problems and said that both he and Van Dijk are on their way to full fitness.
Sound? to hear from @ J_Gomez97 and @VirgilvDijk, Reds?
– Liverpool FC (@LFC) 13 July 2021
“No setbacks at all. Not for Joe, nothing – he has trained normally, he told Liverpool’s website.
“That’s the thing, these boys are no longer injured, they’re just not 100% yet. There are usually setbacks but so far there have been no setbacks with Joe and Virgil and none [else] – they’re all good.
“No reaction with the knee, nothing, all good. The Internet obviously had too much time.”
He then expanded and gave rough timelines for when each player is expected to return – and the forecast is good for all four. Matip is almost a comeback, while Alexander-Arnold is close and can make a como against Stuttgart.
“It’s different for everyone,” Klopp continued. “There is absolutely no doubt that Joel can play on Tuesday. Trent is looking for me as he can, but I have to talk to the ward and they will tell me if it’s too early. I do not think it is, I think he could play a few minutes on Tuesday.
“Then Joe and Virgil are in a similar situation – not exactly the same, but similar. Both have done parts of our normal training and then they have to do extra parts – hard sprints and this kind of thing.
? ️ The boss has more news about the fitness of four Reds?
– Liverpool FC (@LFC) July 18, 2021
“What they did in training so far worked really well and we will see when we can involve them in completely normal training. I do not want to rush it. There is no point, we waited so long and now we can wait a few days longer. “
