Jurgen Klopp suggested that Liverpool could have both Joe Gomez and Naby Keita back in team training in the near future, though added that more time would be needed for Bobby Firmino and Curtis Jones.
The latter suffered an unfortunate eye injury in training that has kept him sidelined as a precautionary measure.
“The boys are getting closer, all the boys are getting closer,” the 54-year-old told journalists gathered at his pre-Everton press conference.
“Joe is not too far away from team training, Naby is not too far from team training.
“Bobby needs another week to do more football stuff and with Curtis it’s out of our hands.
“Curtis is completely fine, he’s doing what he’s allowed to do. If you ask Curtis, he could go out and run a marathon but it’s just not allowed at the moment. We have to wait until doctors give us the green light.”
Having our Guinean international back in action, however, will be a welcome boost to a midfield depleted by injuries in recent weeks, with the Reds’ options similarly boosted by the return of James Milner, Thiago Alcantara and Jordan Henderson.
Though our earlier injury concerns prompted uncomfortable memories of last season’s horrific crisis at the backline, it would appear that we’ve got over the hump in the road in question at a particularly troublesome time in the campaign.
With nine fixtures to contend with in December, we’ll have our work cut out of us to get a decent return in points without incurring any further niggles or long-term problems.
Fortunately, our success in Europe means that Klopp will have at least one opportunity to rotate for our upcoming meeting with AC Milan at the San Siro.