Influential midfielder Emre Can is expected to be fit for Liverpool’s Premier League clash with Chelsea on Friday evening.
The 22-year-old has been sidelined with an ankle injury of late, but will return to first-team training at Melwood on Tuesday, according to the Liverpool Echo.
Having featured for just 21 minutes in the 4-3 win over Arsenal on the opening weekend, Can then missed the 2-0 defeat at Burnley with a back problem.
The Germany international made his first start of the campaign against Burton in the League Cup second round, but limped off with the aforementioned ankle problem midway through the second-half. He has not played since.
It gives Jurgen Klopp a potential selection headache going into Friday’s trip to Stamford Bridge, following such a superb team performance against champions Leicester City on Saturday.
Captain Jordan Henderson produced his best display of the season in Can’s deep-lying midfield role, while Georginio Wijnaldum was an underrated presence in the middle of the park.
It would be a risk for Klopp to alter things for such an important game, but Can’s qualities have become increasingly evident since he joined from Bayer Leverkusen for £9.75million in July 2014.
The youngster was one of Liverpool’s best players in 2015/16, producing some dominant performance as the Reds reached the Europa League final.
When fully fit, his place in the starting line-up is not in doubt, but depending on how he fares in training this week, a cameo off the substitutes’ bench could make more sense against Antonio Conte’s side.
Dejan Lovren will also be monitored in the coming days, after the Croatian missed the win over Leicester with a severe black eye.
Lucas Leiva played well in Lovren’s absence, despite his catastrophic error that led to Jamie Vardy’s goal, but Klopp will surely be keen to get his first-choice centre-back pairing of Lovren and Joel Matip back on the pitch.
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