Pepijn Lijnders has provided an update on the fitness of Thiago and admitted that the side “miss” the Spaniard’s presence on the pitch.
The midfielder has been out of action with a hip injury since April and is yet to be named in a matchday squad this season.
He didn’t train with the squad as they prepared for the Europa League opener at LASK on Thursday and the assistant manager has revealed that he is yet to make a full training return ahead of Wednesday’s visit of Leicester in the League Cup.
Speaking ahead of the tie, Lijnders said Thiago is “healing” as he builds towards a return to the field, but he remains unavailable for selection for the Reds.
“He is in a good way, the healing process is going well so that’s the most important [thing] at this moment,” said Lijnders as he previewed the Foxes’ visit.
“We miss Thiago, his quality. Alexis shows a lot of similar control in the middle, makes the ball arrive in the right spaces to the right players.
“We want him back in training, he is still not back in training. He’s healing and is individual on the pitch, simple but effective. Time will tell how that goes.”
The comments from Jurgen Klopp‘s No. 2 indicate that Thiago is still training separately from his teammates as he attempts to regain his fitness.
Liverpool made four midfield signings over the summer but Lijnders insists that his absence from the side remains noticeable.
Both the player and the staff will be keen to reintroduce Thiago as an option in the coming weeks and there will be ample opportunities for him to feature across the four competitions the Reds are competing in.
Klopp made 11 changes to his side for last week’s trip to LASK in the Europa League and he is expected to adopt a similar approach in the domestic cup competitions as he looks to utilise the full depth of his squad.
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