A return to action against Chelsea had been the target but it could be the Liverpool midfielder will be given more time to recover from a fractured foot.
For those who paid close attention to Liverpool during their first pre-season under new head coach Arne Slot, one of the clear standouts in the side was midfielder Harvey Elliott, with the 21-year-old consistently shining in an advanced roll.
With just one game per week at the start of the Premier League season in August and then the player suffering a fractured foot while on duty with the England youth set-up, though, there hasn’t been much seen of the talented youngster since.
Now back in individual training, Elliott and the club had been targeting a return against Chelsea following the October international break, but according to reports the club are inclined to take a cautious approach and give him more time.
Returning against Chelsea would have been pushing up against the limits of how quickly a fractured foot can heal fully, so assuming this news represents simple caution rather than some kind of a setback it seems a wise, defensible approach.
Elliott showed during pre-season he can be a key player in this Liverpool side, but he also isn’t first choice for his role—that honour currently falls to Dominik Szoboszlai—and a generally fit squad means there’s no present need to rush.