Jurgen Klopp unsure if Trent Alexander-Arnold will be fit to face Tottenham on Sunday, live on Sky Sports
Tuesday 26 March 2019 19:08, UK
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has confirmed Joe Gomez has returned to training after a three-and-a-half month absence.
Gomez has not featured for Liverpool since suffering a lower-leg fracture during a Premier League match against Burnley on December 5.
Gomez returned to training at Melwood on Tuesday but Klopp says the 21-year-old will need to improve his fitness before being considered for selection.
"It is nice - Joe is not injured anymore and nearly fit," Klopp told Liverpool's website.
"He will not be in the afternoon training session because he has to do something else - he has to work on his endurance, that's how it is and how the boys always have to do it, like Ox (Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain) had to do it when he was finally back in training.
"After a long time, I think Joe was out for 15 weeks, that is long, so he needs to now create the basis again for the rest of the season."
Klopp is unsure if Trent Alexander-Arnold will be fit to face Tottenham on Sunday, live on Sky Sports.
Alexander-Arnold withdrew from the England squad for the Euro 2020 qualifiers against the Czech Republic and Montenegro after struggling with a back injury.
"Trent still feels his back. We are not 100 per cent sure, so we have to watch him," Klopp said. "Trent wants to [be] 100 per cent, but we have to see.
"It is a strange one, it's not an obvious injury that you can say something is broke or whatever, it's just a bit annoying actually that he cannot feel really free.
"For him, it was really important that he could do the rehab and not being in normal training all the time.
"Hopefully [between] tomorrow and Thursday he can be back in full training and then it should be fine."
Xherdan Shaqiri also remained at Melwood over the international break after a groin injury ruled him out of Switzerland's qualifiers against Georgia and Denmark.
Shaqiri is yet to resume full training but Klopp expects the winger to be available against Spurs.
"[He is] good, much better," said the boss. "Shaq, since a couple of weeks [ago], has had some problems with the groin.
"He trained, not how he could train, but was still in the squad and all that stuff because we didn't have a lot of options. Now he feels better day by day and should be fine for the weekend."
Klopp is also hopeful Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain will re-join his team-mates in training next week as he continues his recovery from a muscle injury sustained during a match for the club's U23 team.
"I spoke to him a second ago; Ox is positive, we are all positive," said Klopp. "It was a little setback, it was not more, but it was a setback. That's how it is.
"You don't want to be overly sensitive after a period like this because they train a lot - training is always like this, it's like stress for the body.
"You feel something, but you don't want to mention everything because it [can be] DOMS (delayed onset muscle soreness).
"It was the case with him, it was a little bit more than DOMS, but not really [serious]. We are careful of course, he is working, he is doing a lot and I think will be in training in a week again. Then he will be fine."
