Young right back Conor Bradley has returned to team training but the news is less optimistic for striker Diogo Jota on the injury front.
Liverpool’s frantic fixture list keeps up its pace this week as Arne Slot’s Reds face a back-to-back against Brighton, with a visit to the south coast side on Wednesday in the League Cup before the clubs face off again in the Premier League from Anfield on Saturday.
Meanwhile, there’s not a great deal of good news for the Liverpool boss on the injury front with only one injured player looking likely to return to action in the coming days. The good news there, though, is at least there is one, as right back Conor Bradley has returned to team training in recent days.
That means that while a Wednesday start might come too soon for the young defender and Northern Ireland’s captain during the last international break, but the 21-year-old should be involved at least off the bench in Liverpool’s next two games.
The news is the opposite of good when it comes to Diogo Jota. The striker suffered a rib injury against Chelsea and missed games against Leipzig and Arsenal, and Slot now says the earliest the Portuguese international could return to action would be following the November international break.
That’s a timeline that would mean at least a month on the sidelines, hinting at more than the bruising injury that had previously been reported. The best case timeline for recovery from a simple rib fracture if that is in fact the injury is four weeks, with six more likely.
Meanwhile, star goalkeeper Alisson Becker, young midfielder Harvey Elliott, and summer signing Federico Chiesa remain injured and are not taking part in team training this week with their potential returns not expected to come in either of the two upcoming games against Brighton.