Dejan Lovren has returned to Liverpool training after injury, ahead of Saturday’s crucial top-four clash with Arsenal at Anfield.
The Croatian has missed the last three games with a persistent knee problem, and flew out to Germany to see a specialist at the end of February.
He has since recovered, and has joined Jurgen Klopp‘s squad at Melwood for training, as they prepare to take on the Gunners in a key encounter.
Writing on his Instagram account on Wednesday afternoon, Lovren said it was “good to be back,” and Klopp will no doubt feel the same way, having seen his side struggle in defence of late.
According to the Telegraph, he could be in line to take his place back for Saturday’s Anfield outing.
Klopp has called upon Lucas Leiva as partner to Joel Matip in the Reds’ last two games, but after he impressed against Tottenham, he struggled considerably away to Leicester City.
It could be that the German opts to drop the Brazilian, with Arsene Wenger likely to deploy Alexis Sanchez up front on Saturday.
He has further options in Ragnar Klavan and Joe Gomez, with the latter once again playing the full 90 minutes for the Liverpool U23s on Monday night.
The 19-year-old has been in strong form for the academy side, as he works his way back to fitness and sharpness following a nightmare spell on the sidelines with an ACL injury.
Speaking after their 1-0 win away to West Brom in the Premier League Cup, Gomez highlighted the importance of doing so, as he pushes for a first-team return.
“I’ve had the chance to get a lot of 90-minute [appearances] now,” he explained.
“It’s important that I keep building. You can always keep learning and it’s good for me to keep getting minutes, as well as learning in training from everyone in the first team.
“I feel very good. I feel like I’m learning and finding myself each game.
“It’s good to get some minutes; it’s a great experience for me and good to come into such a strong team and be able to play a part.
“It’s important that I come into every game and keep getting into good habits and doing my best to help be a leader within the team.
“We’ve got a great bunch of lads, some great talent and we have to just keep learning and building and we’ll keep progressing.”
Klopp has few other injury concerns ahead of Saturday, though captain Jordan Henderson (foot) is unlikely to feature, along with Adam Bogdan (ACL), Ovie Ejaria (ankle) and Danny Ings (knee).
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