Layton Stewart has admitted to feeling relieved to being back on the pitch following a 13-month injury-enforced hiatus.
An ACL injury incurred in March 2021 forced the youngster off the pitch on a stretcher and he sadly didn’t see a return until April the next year.
As one might expect of Liverpool’s coaching staff, the now 20-year-old was not made to feel even vaguely isolated, though he jokingly noted that perhaps some staff members ‘were probably glad to see the back of me’.
“In the end it was 13 months out and it’s the toughest thing I’ve faced in my career so far,” the youngster told the club’s official website.
“I’ve never been injured, you see, so to get such a big injury and have such a long spell on the sidelines was tough for me. But the lads all helped me, especially Tom Hill who had the same injury, so I had him by my side.
“The staff, the physios Paul Kelly, Scott McAuley and Tony Jones were all brilliant with me and stood by me throughout the whole injury, which I will always be so grateful for.
“To be fair, they were probably glad to see the back of me and away from the treatment table the amount of questions I was asking them!”
Carrying bags of potential, there’s more than an element of hope attached to the forward making the grade at senior level – though it remains to be seen whether it will be with Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool.
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It’s great to see the Academy starlet back in action on a regular basis after suffering such a significant setback early on in his playing career.
Having already spent some time training with the senior team, Stewart will have enjoyed a good taste of what life could be like for him in Merseyside on a regular basis if he can manage to keep his upward momentum going.