Liverpool could welcome midfielder Curtis Jones back against Brighton. The midfielder has not played since injuring his ankle in the win over Brentford over a month ago.
Liverpool returns to Premier League action against Brighton at Anfield on Sunday. The Reds currently sit second in the table, behind Arsenal only on goal difference with Manchester City a point behind in third.
The league leaders travel to the Etihad later on Sunday meaning Liverpool could find itself back in pole position with a victory. Jürgen Klopp has been without a number of key players through injury in recent weeks but that situation is improving considerably.
Klopp spoke to the media in his press conference on Friday and confirmed that Curtis Jones was back in training, with the midfielder having not played since suffering an ankle problem at Brentford in February.
He could feature against Brighton on Sunday while Ibrahima Konaté is also in line to return. The defender missed Liverpool’s last three matches but was called up by France during the recent international break, playing the full 90 minutes against Chile this week.
Konaté had missed training on Thursday but Klopp allayed any fears over a lay-off. There is also good news regarding left-back Andy Robertson after he picked up an injury with Scotland in midweek.
According to The Athletic, Robertson is set to be out for days rather than weeks and Klopp provided an update on his fitness in his pre-match press conference, as well as Darwin Núñez who withdrew from Uruguay duty.
Liverpool remains without goalkeeper Alisson, as well as Trent Alexander-Arnold and Diogo Jota but the trio are not believed to be too far away, while Stefan Bajčetić will continue his rehabilitation with the club’s Under-21s side.
What Klopp said before Brighton match
“Curtis is in training. Ibou was extra rest day, nothing else. Robbo we will take it day by day. He won’t train today but it’s not as bad. That’s fine. Darwin did his rehab during the week, trained first day partially and since then in full training.
“The other boys from next week on step by step they will join parts of team training. We will see what we do with that. They aren’t too far away. They are all making their steps. It’s a positive.
“They need to be back. Step by step we have to get through these periods and the boys will come back. They don’t have time to find their feet again, they just pretty much have to deliver. It starts all with defending and counter-pressing and then having the rhythm to play football.
“Football brain wise Stefan is a natural, but rhythm is something else. He is in partial training with the U21s and will be in full training with the U21s next week. Then we will see. He has put a few muscles on and looks good. Conor Bradley didn’t need long when he was out for a long time. I forgot he’d played for us early in the season and everything went the wrong way.”
The return to fitness of Curtis Jones comes at the perfect time for Liverpool ahead of a hectic run of fixtures. Konaté is also in line to feature against Brighton while Klopp’s options could soon be boosted even further. Each of the returning players could have a big role to play before the season finishes.
