A 31-man Liverpool squad set off for a training camp in Austria via Leipzig on Thursday morning, and Diogo Jota was among nine players left behind.
A quick stop in Germany for a friendly against RB Leipzig, before a week in Austria that will conclude with another match against Red Bull Salzburg, is next on the Reds’ pre-season agenda.
Less commercial commitments and more time to fine-tune things on the training pitch.
Liverpool have confirmed the players that have flown out, with Alisson, Joe Gomez, Calvin Ramsay and Kaide Gordon all included, having recently been sidelined through various injuries.
There are, however, still a handful of notable omissions. Here are nine players missing from the Reds’ travelling party.
Caoimhin Kelleher
The Irish goalkeeper remains absent having also missed the tour of Asia last week.
Alisson is back with the squad, although it remains to be seen if he is yet ready to return to action, with Adrian, Harvey Davies, Fabian Mrozek and Liam Hughes also travelling.
Kelleher, though, is still ruled out, with Jurgen Klopp admitting he was unsure when he would be available again during a press conference in Singapore last week.
Luke Chambers
Chambers was thrown straight in with the first team having only returned from winning the under-19 European Championships with England earlier this month.
He started the friendly against Man United and came on as a late substitute in the victory against Palace.
However, with Andy Robertson and Kostas Tsimikas both fit and available, it seems the coaching staff have decided Chambers is not needed with the squad on this ocassion.
James Norris
19-year-old Norris was another youngster included in the Liverpool squad that flew to Asia last week.
Comfortable at left-back and in midfield, his versatility is likely to have been something that appealed to the first team coaching staff, as the senior players regained their fitness in the early stages of pre-season.
He featured in both friendlies, but now looks set to return to training with the under-23s, having been omitted from the latest first team group.
Leighton Clarkson
20-year-old Clarkson broke into the first team set up a couple of years ago alongside fellow midfielder Jake Cain.
However, after an unsuccessful loan spell with hometown club Blackburn Rovers last season, he now finds himself at something of a crossroads in his career.
Unlike Cain, he did at least feature in the squad that flew to Bangkok and Singapore last week, but has been left out of the latest group, with talented 17-year-old Stefan Bajcetic selected ahead of him.
Tom Hill
Hill’s inclusion in the 37-man party that headed to the Far East was a real heartwarming story.
The talented 19-year-old sustained a serious knee injury in September 2020 and has barely played any football since.
He came on alongside Mohamed Salah and Darwin Nunez in the friendly against United but an untimely “knock” ruled him out of the friendly against Palace and may well be the reason why he’s not travelled to Austria, too. Hopefully it’s nothing serious.
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain
A hamstring injury sustained in the first half of Liverpool’s win against Palace has ruled Oxlade-Chamberlain out of the next stage of their pre-season preparations.
The problem came after he had burst forward to take a shot at goal, before pulling up and immediately signalling for a substitution.
It remains to be seen how long he’ll be sidelined, but missing such an important part of pre-season is far from ideal for a player who hasn’t played a single minute of competitive football since March.
Melkamu Frauendorf
Like Hill, Frauendorf was another who missed the game against Palace with a minor injury issue.
It’s unclear if he is still struggling with a knock, but with more of Klopp’s senior stars closer to full fitness, the 18-year-old may not have been included in this group anyway.
Bobby Clark
Clark was another academy prospect the senior coaching staff wanted to have a look at in the Far East, but he hasn’t been included in the next stage of the Reds’ preparations for 2022/23.
The forward joined the club from Newcastle last summer and is viewed as a top prospect.
At just 17, there’s every chance he’ll be given more first team opportunities in the coming years.
Diogo Jota
Liverpool’s No. 20 remains out after suffering a recurrence of a hamstring injury in Singapore last week.
Jota initially picked up the problem while on international duty with Portugal at the end of last season.
Klopp has already ruled him out of the Community Shield clash against Man City later this month, with a return date still unclear.
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