Neil Jones has shared his expectation that recovering star, Curtis Jones, will be available for the first-team once again for Liverpool’s upcoming tie, though he may have to settle for a spot on the bench.
Jurgen Klopp had previously expressed his hope that the Englishman would be back in time for the visit to Old Trafford after expressing his disappointment with the international setup for risking the No.17’s health.
“He trained; he did the warm up. I think he’ll train fully, if not today, certainly tomorrow,” the Goal reporter told the Journo Insight Extra Show on Redmen TV.
“He’ll be back in. I’d be surprised if he started, especially given that it was a groin problem, a recurring groin problem that came back after he played half an hour/45 minutes for the [England] 21s, which Jürgen wasn’t at all happy about!
“I’d be surprised if he started, but I think he should be back in the squad.”
It will provide a significant boost for the German with the club’s current midfield options somewhat thin following injuries sustained by both Thiago Alcantara and Harvey Elliott.
If we don’t happen to see Jones back in the starting-XI, we’d expect Klopp to go with the experience of James Milner once again in the middle of the park alongside Jordan Henderson and Fabinho.
It’s a game that could be suited to Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain’s traits, however, the former Arsenal favourite’s lack of game time likely rules him out for one of the biggest occasions in English football.
With our Brazilian international back involved in midfield and shielding the backline, we can probably rely on a repeat of our mid-week Champions League performance in the first-half to not rear its ugly head once more, at least not in the immediate future.