Harvey Elliott has endured a rollercoaster of a season with Liverpool since a surprise start in the first-team for Jurgen Klopp’s men against Burnley, with injury hampering what was a superb individual beginning to the campaign.
Following a goalscoring return to the pitch in a cameo appearance in the second-half of the Reds’ 3-1 win over Cardiff City in the FA Cup, Trent Alexander-Arnold opened up on his teammate’s impressive show of mental fortitude over the last few months.
“Very good [to see him back]. I sit next to him in the changing room downstairs so I’ve seen his journey, on his good days and on his bad days, pushing through, always putting in the work,” the fullback told Liverpool’s official website.
“At the start not really even being able to walk and then developing to seeing him back on the pitch and things like that, it has been good to see. As a young lad to be able to bounce back as quickly as he did is outstanding for him.
“Hats off to his mentality throughout the whole thing, he has conducted himself amazingly and the least he deserved was that goal.”
With skipper Jordan Henderson set to miss out on the upcoming meeting with Leicester City at Anfield, there’s a possibility too that the No.67 could be handed further minutes (if not a start) in the first-XI come Thursday.
The determination to cut his estimated injury layoff period short alone says a great deal about the starlet’s superb attitude and commitment to realising his potential in the game.
So often it seems such talent is accompanied by a level of arrogance so repugnant as to almost overshadow what a player can offer to the game – though that seems to be far from the case with the 18-year-old despite the sky being the limit for his potential.
Couple his gifts with an outstanding mentality and we could yet be witnessing the makings of another world-class Liverpool star.
#Ep33 of The Red Nets Podcast: Diaz’s debut, Elliott’s return, Mane to La Liga?… and more!