Jurgen Klopp’s latest comments suggest that Thiago Alcantara could be due for a return to the matchday squad tomorrow, should the midfielder train to a sufficient standard, as reported by the Echo.
The former Bayern man, who made the switch to the Premier League in the summer, has been fighting for fitness since suffering an injury in the Merseyside derby in October.
“He just has to be part of team training [more]. It’s not about being part of team training one day and then you can play football in the Premier League,” Klopp said. “So it looks quite promising at the moment but I cannot say more about it, to be honest. I don’t know.”
“I think the plan was that if he trains [on Monday] completely normally then we will see,” the former Dortmund coach added.
The Reds return to action tomorrow evening, after a dismal second-half display in the West Brom tie resulted in a share of the spoils for both sides.
Having been frustrated to no end by Sam Allardyce’s well-executed low-block, Thiago is one player that Klopp really could have done with having available.
We’ll have to rule out a start for the classy Spaniard, based off of what the boss has said, however, the possibility of a spot on the bench doesn’t appear to have been ruled out entirely.
Given that Newcastle are likely to attempt to frustrate Liverpool in a similar manner, even a brief cameo from our No.6 could prove vital to our efforts.
At any rate, we’ve no doubt that the lads will be more than up for the battle after dropping points at the weekend.