Empire of the Kop
·12 de dezembro de 2024
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Yahoo sportsEmpire of the Kop
·12 de dezembro de 2024
The presence of two players in particular at the AXA Training Centre on Thursday will have been encouraging for Liverpool fans and Arne Slot.
The Reds’ attacking options have been hindered by the absences of Diogo Jota and Federico Chiesa since late October, with the former getting injured in the win over Chelsea a few weeks ago and the latter still working his way back to fitness after missing almost the entire autumn.
It was hoped that the Italian would’ve been in the squad to face Girona earlier in the week, but illness put paid to that, leaving him without any first-team involvement since the Carabao Cup victory against West Ham towards the end of September.
Taking to X in sharing a corresponding article for the Liverpool Echo, Paul Gorst reported of ‘good news on the injury front’ for the Reds as both Jota and Chiesa trained on Thursday.
However, he noted in a separate tweet that the duo were undertaking exercises ‘away from the rest of the squad’, with Slot instead working with the main group who are set to comprise the matchday squad to face Fulham at the weekend.
(Photo by Alex Livesey/Getty Images)
Saturday’s clash against the Cottagers might come too soon for Jota and Chiesa if they weren’t training with the bulk of the Liverpool squad today, but it offers real hope that their returns aren’t far away at all.
All going well, the duo could feature in the Carabao Cup quarter-final against Southampton next Wednesday, which’d duly enable Slot to give a well-earned breather to Mo Salah and Darwin Nunez.
It’d also give the Reds boss greater scope for attacking rotation during a busy festive period which sees his side play three Premier League matches in eight days, two of which are away fixtures in London.
Chiesa’s return will be particulary welcome, with the 27-year-old having played just 78 minutes for Liverpool since his transfer from Juventus in August and having endured a frustrating false start to his Anfield career.
With Ibrahima Konate also in line to return before the end of Deember, it’s beginning to look as though Slot may be getting a few bodies back in the fold at the perfect time, fingers crossed.