Virgil van Dijk and Bobby Firmino have been pictured in Liverpool training today in what comes as a major injury boost for Jurgen Klopp’s side.
Rumours emerged following the Reds’ 1-1 draw with Crystal Palace on Monday night suggesting that the Dutchman had felt slight discomfort in his knee despite playing 90 minutes whilst our No. 9 was absent from the clash with the Eagles as a precaution.
With Darwin Nunez set to miss three games following his straight red-card for head butting Joachim Andersen, Firmino’s return comes at an important time.
With us travelling to Old Trafford on Monday night to face Manchester United, you’d now expect the Brazil international to replace the suspended striker in the starting XI.
Thiago Alcantara, Curtis Jones, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain remain unavailable as they continue their recovery from their respective injuries whilst Ibrahima Konate, Caoimhin Kelleher, Diogo Jota and Joel Matip are also set to miss the clash with Erik ten Hag’s side.
The squad does feel like it’s down to the bare bones at the moment but Klopp has insisted that he’s happy with the ‘size and strength’ of his squad recently.
Many Liverpool supporters are still calling out for a new midfielder to arrive at the club during the current window but that now looks extremely unlikely with the Reds expected to wait until next summer to sign Jude Bellingham from Borussia Dortmund.
We’re only two games into the new season but let’s hope we can get our campaign back on track on Monday and pile yet more misery on the Red Devils.
You can see an image of van Dijk and Firmino back in training below via the Liverpool Echo’s @IanDoyleSport on Twitter:
Virgil van Dijk and Roberto Firmino both took part in training for #LFC today 🔴 pic.twitter.com/CMD1RGbGFh
— Ian Doyle (@IanDoyleSport) August 18, 2022