Alexis Mac Allister has rejoined Liverpool’s pre-season training after over two months out with an unspecified injury, with the midfielder planning his return.
Mac Allister has not played in any capacity since a substitute appearance in Liverpool’s 2-2 draw with Arsenal on May 11, having already been crowned champions.
The decision was made to leave him out of the final two games of the domestic campaign while he was also not included in the Argentina squad for their World Cup qualifiers against Chile and Colombia.
An unknown injury kept Mac Allister out of Liverpool’s warmup friendlies against Preston, Stoke and AC Milan as well, but he is now back fit and in full training.
It seems unlikely he is involved against Yokohama F. Marinos on Wednesday, with the 26-year-old explaining his situation in an interview with the club’s official website.
“It has been a long time, a difficult time because it is never nice to be injured,” Mac Allister said.
“But now I’m feeling good, it’s just about time and getting fit because they have had a good pre-season so they are definitely in a different physical shape, so I have to get used [to it] again.”
Mac Allister revealed that his layoff was not due to one specific injury, more a combination of various niggling issues which proved complicated.
“It’s hard to explain [the injury] because it’s not just one spot that you say, ‘OK, we have to focus on this’,” he continued.
“It’s like two or three different things that I’ve been struggling [with] for a couple of months.
“At the end, we found the solution; we have been working a lot in the gym, on my structure.
“It’s hard to explain it but as I said, now I’m feeling good and for me that’s the most important thing.”
When Mac Allister expects to be back playing
With Wataru Endo expected to return to availability, Arne Slot is not short of midfield options for the clash with Yokohama F. Marinos, including the likes of Ryan Gravenberch, Florian Wirtz, Dominik Szoboszlai and Curtis Jones.
That allows Liverpool to maintain caution when it comes to Mac Allister’s fitness, though knowing that Gravenberch will be banned for the opening Premier League game at home to Bournemouth may accelerate his reintegration.
“That’s the idea,” the No. 10 said when asked if he expects to be back for the start of the season.
“As I said, I need to work on my physical shape and get used again to the level of the boys.
“But I’m feeling really, really good, training with the team and I’m pretty sure I’m going to be fine for the beginning of the season and hopefully for the [Community Shield] as well.”
* You can follow all Liverpool’s pre-season friendlies live with All Red Video, the new video offering from the club that replaces LFCTV. Purchase All Red Video here.
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