Liverpool were without both Alexis Mac Allister and Wataru Endo for their 4-2 friendly loss to AC Milan, but there should be positive news for the midfielders.
Mac Allister is yet to feature for Liverpool in pre-season while Endo missed the defeat to Milan in Hong Kong having played in their previous two friendlies.
It left Ryan Gravenberch and Tyler Morton to both clock an hour on the pitch on Saturday while the remainder of the squad were rotated with 45 minutes each.
But with the Liverpool squad flying to Japan ahead of their friendly against Yokohama F. Marinos, both Mac Allister and Endo could now be in contention to play.
According to the Mail‘s Lewis Steele, Mac Allister is back in full training having recovered from a long-term injury sustained in the back end of last season.
Endo is also expected to be fit for a showpiece clash in his homeland having sat out of the weekend’s warmup game due to illness.
Speaking in his post-match press conference, Arne Slot explained that both Endo and Darwin Nunez were simply not risked against Milan.
“[Endo] trained with us for the whole week but we didn’t want to take a risk with him as well,” he told reporters at the Kai Tak Sports Park.
“That’s part of pre-season; the boys need to go towards match fitness and that’s a thin balance, thin line sometimes.
“In this situation we thought it was smarter for Darwin and Wata to be out today but I assume they will be there with us when we are in Japan playing the next game.”
That Mac Allister made the trip to Asia, despite being forced to miss the end of last season and Argentina’s summer World Cup qualifiers against Chile and Colombia, was indicative of him nearing a return.
Liverpool had left both Jayden Danns and Federico Chiesa on Merseyside to focus on fitness work, but Mac Allister’s place on the plane suggested he could be involved.
He is likely to be eased in on Wednesday, perhaps as a second-half substitute, before his workload is increased in the buildup to the new campaign.
Mac Allister’s absence has undoubtedly been a frustration for Slot and his staff as they build a new-look side for their title challenge, with the 26-year-old set to retain a key role in midfield.
But there is still plenty of time to catch up and be ready for the start of the season – when Bournemouth head to Anfield on August 15.
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