Liverpool are in line for a double fitness boost at left-back, with both Andy Robertson and Kostas Tsimikas on track to return to training by the end of January.
Robertson has been sidelined since dislocating his shoulder while representing Scotland during the October international break – missing the last 19 games.
Tsimikas, meanwhile, suffered a broken collarbone as the Reds were held to a 1-1 draw by Arsenal at Anfield last month.
However, both men are edging closer to a return, with Pep Lijnders explaining the timeline they are working to ahead of Wednesday’s meeting with Fulham.
The Dutchman also revealed that Robertson will take part in a warm-weather training camp in order to speed up his comeback.
“Robbo, he’s almost at the three-month mark, so he will get checked by the surgeon,” he said.
“And if he does that scan and we see everything [so] that we can really progress him, he will go to Dubai for a week to do proper volume sessions, proper sessions, so that will be good for him.
“Then we see the three-month-mark scan and then we can see how quick he can go into contact again.
“Same for Kostas. Kostas is progressing really well, really quick. So hopefully both of them – Robbo and Kostas – will be back at the end of this month to train with the team.”
Lijnders’ update, while somewhat positive, confirms that Robertson will indeed be unavailable for the rest of January.
There was some negative injury news from Lijnders, with Trent Alexander-Arnold ruled out for “probably three weeks” after hyperextending his knee in the win over Arsenal, which will now afford Conor Bradley an opportunity in the XI.
Liverpool will be without 10 first team players when Fulham visit on Wednesday, with Alexander-Arnold joining Dominik Szoboszlai, Joel Matip, Robertson, Tsimikas, Thiago, Stefan Bajcetic, Ben Doak, Wataru Endo and Mo Salah on the unavailable list.
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