Lewis Steele has issued positive updates on several Liverpool players who are currently laid low with injury.
Federico Chiesa has yet to play for the Reds this season, having incurred a muscle problem during the friendly against Como at the AXA Training Centre a month ago.
Meanwhile, Giovanni Leoni has been sidelined for almost a full year due to an ACL rupture, while Conor Bradley and Hugo Ekitike are set to be ruled out for another few months with long-term issues of their own.
What’s the latest on injured Liverpool trio?
In his latest Liverpool Confidential for the Daily Mail, Steele has provided LFC fans with encouraging news on some of those named above.
He wrote that Chiesa is aiming to resume training towards the end of this month, with his return earmarked for the first week of the extended international window.
Elswhere, Leoni is ‘stepping up his recovery’ from his devastating ACL blow, while Bradley has begun individual training and is undergoing ball work as he continues his rehabilitation from the serious knee injury he suffered against Arsenal in January.
Steele described the updates on the latter duo as ‘small steps on both counts but positive to hear’.
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Liverpool will need all the squad depth they can get later in the autumn
It could be another while yet before the two defenders are cleared to resume playing, and even when they finally get the green light, they’ll need to be reintroduced gently after such long absences.
Thankfully for Andoni Iraola, the return of Joe Gomez this week has bolstered his defensive depth and given him an extra option at both centre-back and right-back, with the latter having been a rather problematic postion for Liverpool in recent weeks.
As for Chiesa, his latest injury setback has prevented him from building any momentum at the start of the season, and he almost certainly would’ve played against Tottenham Hotspur in the Carabao Cup on Tuesday had he been fit.
Hopefully he’ll get some valuable training time under his belt during the international window and be available for the Reds once the campaign resumes in mid-October, even if he’s likely to still be used sparingly by the head coach given the attacking options at our disposal.
Liverpool will face into a thankless run of nine matches in 29 days from the middle of next month, a hectic sequence which is sure to test squad depth to its limits, so the return of any currently stricken player before then would be most welcome.
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