Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has announced that Andrew Robertson and Curtis Jones will return from injury against Sheffield United on Thursday, while Wataru Endo remains a concern.
Robertson suffered an ankle injury while on international duty with Scotland last month, and Jones has been sidelined since February after injuring his ankle in Liverpool’s 4-1 victory over Brentford.
Diogo Jota and Trent Alexander-Arnold are also expected to return to training next week, and goalkeeper Alisson is making good progress in his rehabilitation from a hamstring injury. Endo, on the other hand, sustained an injury while helping Liverpool defeat Brighton 2-1 on Sunday.
“Curtis is in training, full training, and is in contention,” Klopp stated in his pre-match press conference. “That’s pretty much it. The other lads are doing nicely. Diogo and Trent are in a group, which benefits both of them, but it appears that starting next week, they will be involved in some aspects of team training, and then we will see what happens.
“Ali is with the goalkeeper coaches, so I just see them via the fence, but it seems fantastic as well. I believe he is also thinking about next week’s team training. Curtis is back, but that does not mean he can play 90 minutes; he can play a few minutes.
“Wataru, what a player, what a man. He got a knock in the last game, so we’ll see what we can do with him tomorrow. Klopp also claimed that Stefan Bajcetic, who has been troubled by injury difficulties this season, has returned to work with Liverpool’s under-21s.
“He trains now fully with the under-21s this week,” Klopp said in a statement. “That means we’ll take him in for training next week and see what happens. Another one is on the way, and it is really crucial.”
Liverpool climbed to the top of the league table after defeating Brighton on Sunday, while title rivals Arsenal and Manchester City also drew. The Gunners defeated Luton 2-0 on Wednesday. However, Klopp is unconcerned with his team’s current status as favourites with nine games remaining.
“It’s obviously nothing we are really aware of,” he went on to say. “The scenario for us is Sheffield United, not who is the favorite. I am pretty sure that when we lost to Arsenal, we were not considered favourites.
“Maybe rightly or wrongly, I don’t know and don’t care. I believe I stated in the previous news conference that one of the most important things to do to get through this period is to ignore the outside turmoil, which fluctuates and is emotional in nature. “We need to be professional.”