Jayden Danns has not travelled with the Liverpool squad for their tour of Hong Kong and Japan, with the striker initially having been scheduled to fly.
Last week, This Is Anfield brought the news that Danns was set to join the first team out in Asia having been a consistent feature in pre-season training.
But when Arne Slot named his 29-man squad – soon to be 30 with the addition of Hugo Ekitike – for the friendlies against AC Milan and Yokohama F. Marinos, the 19-year-old was a notable absentee.
That comes with Danns having been left out as a precaution, with the club deeming it more beneficial that he instead continues working on his fitness.
This Is Anfield understands the striker will stay at the AXA Training Centre and should still be involved later in pre-season.
He is considered not far off in terms of availability, and with Liverpool due to play LaLiga side Athletic Club in back-to-back friendlies at Anfield on August 4 it seems likely he will be included for those games.
Danns has attracted interest in another loan deal this season – not least from Sunderland, having failed to have an appearance for the Black Cats after joining in January due to a long-standing back issue.
But Slot is a keen admirer of the teenager and the prospect of him staying as a first-team option cannot be ruled out at this stage.
Liverpool will be acutely aware of the risks of exposing Danns too quickly, particularly after the issues he faced with his growth while progressing through the youth ranks.
While in the U16s squad he missed around eight months due to knee problems related to Osgood-Schlatter’s disease, seeing him grow 10 inches in that time from 5’2″ to 6′.
The increased workload in recent seasons, as he made a swift rise from U18s to U21s and then with game time for the first team, appears to have taken its toll too with his recent back injury.
A careful approach is understandable, then, with medical staff eager to avoid any gambles when it comes to Danns’ long-term fitness.
With the addition of Ekitike, Slot will have three clear options for the central striker role in Asia with Darwin Nunez and Luis Diaz also available.
However both Nunez and Diaz are attracting concrete interest and the likelihood is that at least one will leave before the end of the transfer window.
* 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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