Arthur was pictured with his team-mates before the Reds’ friendly against Lyon on Sunday, with news now emerging that the midfielder’s return could be “closer than initially assumed.”
After joining the Reds on loan from Juventus at the end of the summer transfer window, the Brazilian only managed 13 minutes of first team football before sustaining a serious muscle injury at the start of October.
The problem required surgery, with initial reports suggesting he would be sidelined for four months. When asked about the issue later that month, Jurgen Klopp said Arthur had sustained a “really serious” and “long-term injury.”
However, reports in Italy are now suggesting he could be available sooner than expected. According to GOAL‘s Juventus correspondent Romeo Agresti, Arthur could return to action “by the end of the month,” with the latest tests on his recovery “positive.”
Buone notizie sul fronte #Arthur: il rientro del brasiliano sembra più vicino rispetto a quanto inizialmente ipotizzato. Il #Liverpool potrebbe averlo a disposizione già entro la fine del mese. Positivi gli ultimi controlli ???@GoalItalia @goal
— Romeo Agresti (@romeoagresti) December 12, 2022
Fabrizio Romano, who despite his widespread reporting on transfers does have close links to some players and agents in Italy, has shed more light on a potential timescale, claiming Arthur could return to training at the end of December, but is unlikely to be ready for match action until the end of January.
Arthur is part of the 32-man Liverpool squad that are currently away on a warm-weather training camp in Dubai, but is yet to be pictured out on the training pitches.
He, alongside, Diogo Jota, Marcelo Pitaluga, Kaide Gordon and Curtis Jones, is working on his recovery with the club’s medical staff in the UAE.
If, as reported, Arthur is available for selection towards the end of January, he will be hoping to prove he can be more than just a temporary solution for Liverpool’s midfield.
His only minutes for the senior team came off the bench in the 4-1 defeat to Napoli in September, but he did feature twice for Liverpool’s under-21s team in a bid to improve his fitness during the international break later that month.
It was also reported at the time that Arthur had appointed extra fitness staff to help get him up to speed before he sustained the injury, having spent the majority of the summer months training individually at Juventus.
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