Good news for Jurgebn Klopp as Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain will make his long-awaited return from injury at Derby County on Friday as Liverpool carefully manage the final stages of his rehabilitation.
Jurgen Klopp, Liverpool’s manager, has been anxious for the England international to get some minutes under his belt, having made excellent progress since he was given the green light to return to full training last month. Liverpool’s Under-23s have a staggered fixture schedule, though, and there were only two options available for Oxlade-Chamberlain to play at the start of this month: against Everton at Anfield on Monday night or Derby at the end of the week.
While Oxlade-Chamberlain’s inclusion against Everton would have been well received by Liverpool supporters, the concern around playing in that particular fixture came from him being exposed to the potential of heavy tackles. There was an example last season when Adam Lallana made his return from a long-term injury at Tottenham Hotspur in a similar fixture but he was sent-off, having been subjected to a number of poor challenges. It was initially thought that Oxlade-Chamberlain would miss the entire season due to the horrific injury he suffered in the first leg of the Champions League semi-final against Roma, when he damaged his anterior, medial and lateral ligaments in his right knee.
But Oxlade-Chamberlain has cleared every major hurdle so far and, most encouragingly of all, he has not had any kind of reaction in his knee each time Liverpool have asked another question of him; provided this continues to be the case, he will play before the end of the campaign. The most realistic starting point would be after the international break – Liverpool registered in him in their Champions League squad in the hope that he would be available for the quarter-finals – but he is under no pressure to shave off any extra time.
Klopp is a huge admirer of Oxlade-Chamberlain, whom he signed from Arsenal in August 2017 for £35million, and knows he will be part of Liverpool’s squad for the long-term. It will, nonetheless, be a huge boost for the manager and the player if he can be involved in the run-in.
Liverpool have relinquished their lead at the top of the table following Sunday’s 0-0 draw with Everton but captain Jordan Henderson insists nobody is panicking in the squad and they ready to answer their critics of claims that they are suffering from a loss of nerve. ‘Not being top won’t change our mind-set,’ said Henderson.
‘We take it game by game and we need to carry on doing that. There are nine games left so plenty of football to play and it is down to us to do the business and win as many games as we can between now and the end of the season. We will keep working hard, keep training hard, listening to what the manager wants us to do. If we score one or two at Everton then everyone is delighted and says it is a perfect away performance. Unfortunately, we couldn’t find the net so we get back to work and prepare for the next game.’