Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has been discussing the condition of Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.
The England international is edging closer to his return to action after missing nearly a year following the long-term knee injury that he sustained in Liverpool’s Champions League semi-final first leg win over Roma last season.
Oxlade-Chamberlain has returned to full first-team training in recent weeks and appears set for some minutes with the Reds’ Under-23 side before he makes his return to Klopp’s plans.
The former Arsenal midfielder is poised to take some part in Liverpool U23s’ clash against Derby County U23s on Friday night, as he takes to the pitch for the first time since the back-end of last season.
Speaking to the club’s official website, as quoted by The London Evening Standard, was quizzed on his recovery on Thursday and insisted that he would not rush the Englishman back into action.
The German said:
The plan is to give him some match time. All that we saw so far in training looks really good, it looks really exciting, but we all know it is a massive difference between each training session you have and playing a proper game.
It’s not about the opponent, it’s about judging situations, a bigger pitch, higher intensity, a different concentration level. The preparation for a match is different to a normal training session, so players after a long period [out] need to get used to that.
There is absolutely no expectation on the game [for him] apart from go through it, tick that box, come back and go on training again. It doesn’t say anything about him ‘being ready for five days later’ or whatever, it is just a first – and very, very important – step.
As I said, in training Ox is back but now we have to make sure we really prepare him for the rest of his career and the rest of this season. Probably it will be 45 minutes and that’s absolutely okay.
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