With the Liverpool squad due to report back for pre-season with staggered return dates, Jurgen Klopp now knows which four players will be the last to join his group.
The Reds will begin pre-season on Monday, with fitness tests and exercises pencilled in before a gradual increase of workload leading to their warmup games.
Liverpool are yet to confirm any of their summer friendlies, but are expected to play at least one at Anfield along with training camps in both France and Austria.
The players available to Klopp will change as pre-season rolls on, with the initial group to be without the 10 players called up to the Euros and Copa America.
Those knocked out of the tournaments will report back after a holiday of at least three weeks, with Andy Robertson the first back involved due to Scotland’s group stage exit at the Euros.
Klopp will now be aware that all four of Jordan Henderson, Roberto Firmino, Fabinho and Alisson likely won’t be back until the final week of pre-season.
With England earning their place in the final of the Euros and Brazil reaching a second consecutive final in Copa America, the quartet are guaranteed to be on duty until July 12.
A minimum of three weeks off would see them back in training on August 2, and they will still be slowly integrated into the squad, with the lactate test to take on their first day.
More likely, though, is that they will be offered a four-week holiday, which would see
They could, therefore, miss all of Liverpool’s pre-season friendlies, while their involvement on the opening day of the Premier League – away to Norwich on August 14 – will be in doubt.
In reality, Klopp and his players will be open to other arrangements to ensure they can make the trip to Carrow Road, which will be aided by a smaller workload for the quartet while on international duty.
Fabinho has clocked the most minutes of the four so far, with 190, while Alisson (180), Firmino (171) and Henderson (105) have all played the equivalent of two full games or fewer.
Thiago (64) will be in a similar position after his exit at the semi-final stage with Spain, with the hope being that they will at least be well-rested ahead of their return to Liverpool.
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