Liverpool could have Luis Diaz back in action in time for the club’s first competitive clash of the second-half of the season – a Carabao Cup meeting with Manchester City.
The Colombian wide man is set to take an active part in team training in the club’s Dubai-based warm weather training camp following a rehab programme at the AXA training ground.
“The hiatus wasn’t something Klopp wanted. He’s been a vocal critic of both the scheduling of a winter World Cup and the decision to hold the tournament in Qatar given the moral issues,” James Pearce wrote for The Athletic.
“But the pause in the domestic campaign has enabled Liverpool’s injury situation to clear up considerably. Most significantly, Luis Diaz is now in a position to resume team training in Dubai. The gifted Colombian attacker hasn’t played since he suffered a knee injury away to Arsenal in early October.
“While many of his team-mates were lying on a beach relaxing in recent weeks, Diaz was putting in the hard yards completing his rehab at Kirkby’s AXA Training Centre and everything went to plan. The hope is that he will get enough training under his belt to play some part in the friendly games.”
The Merseysiders currently find themselves in sixth place on 22 points, seven behind fourth-placed Tottenham (albeit, with a game in hand) and remain involved in all cup competitions.
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Despite a start to the campaign that some would label ‘disastrous’, being only four points away from the heralded Champions League spots in real terms (assuming we win at Aston Villa at the end of December) should be an encouraging sign.
Whilst Darwin Nunez has been thriving on the left-hand side of the front-three for us, there’s no question that having our electric winger back available for competitive fixtures would be a huge boost for the rest of the season.
There are more comparatively serious issues that do need to be addressed regardless, of course – prime amongst them being the need for reinforcements in the middle of the park – though we’ve very much missed having quality in depth available.
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