Liverpool have been handed some welcome news on the injury front ahead of the Merseyside derby on Saturday.
Arne Slot has had a mostly fully-fit squad at his disposal in the early weeks of the season, with Jeremie Frimpong, Conor Bradley and Alexis Mac Allister all returning from brief absences.
The only first-team players sidelined for the Champions League win over Atletico Madrid last night were Curtis Jones and Stefan Bajcetic, and the former appears to be on the verge of becoming available once more.
Liverpool handed Curtis Jones injury boost
In his latest Liverpool Confidential feature for Mail Sport, Lewis Steele shared good news on the 24-year-old, who missed the Reds’ last couple of matches due to a minor injury.
The journalist reported that the Scouse midfielder has been back on the grass as he steps up his recovery and was ‘spotted in good spirits’ at Anfield on Wednesday night to cheer on his teammates.
Jones is ‘in line to return to the squad’ for the Merseyside derby on Saturday lunchtime, handing Slot a timely injury boost for the visit of Everton, with the squad undergoing a recovery session today and some light training scheduled for tomorrow.
Jones’ return a welcome boost to Liverpool amid busy fixture run
Liverpool’s number 17 mightn’t be an automatic selection for the first XI, but he’s started two of the four matches for which he’s been available this season and came off the bench in the other two (Transfermarkt).
He probably won’t start against David Moyes’ side at the weekend, but to have him among the matchday squad would be a welcome boost for the Reds, with the derby being their third match in just seven days.
If Jones doesn’t feature against Everton, he’s quite likely to come into the starting line-up for the Carabao Cup visit of Southampton next Tuesday, when Slot will almost certainly utilise some significant rotation amid a hectic run of fixtures.
Liverpool came through a tough contest against Atletico Madrid with no clear injury concerns, and barring any setbacks in the next 48 hours, it looks as though Bajcetic will be the only first-team player not available for selection on Saturday.
As unlikely as it seems, hopefully that near-full bill of health will be maintained for the Reds throughout the course of the season!
Don’t call that a boost, only boost would be if he was transferred to another club 🤬
Bit harsh, matey.
I can understand some discontent with Curtis’ performances sometimes, but he’s clearly a player that improves when he gets a good run.
Difficult in such a highly competitive, internationally high profile midfield.
Picking up niggly injuries also disrupt that upward curve.
His England performances have been really slick.
LFC will always need a Scouser in the side.
Maybe cut some slack and encourage, let’s see if that helps his performances (and the team’s).