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Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images
The Liverpool star trained with his teammates and will likely be fit enough to at least make the bench on Wednesday.
Liverpool’s first month of the 2022-23 season has been dominated by bad news on the injury front, and especially in midfield it has seemed as if a game doesn’t go past without news of a new player being sidelined by some malady or other.
This week, though, there is some good news, with key midfielder Thiago Alcantara on Monday returning to full team training. Ahead of the weekend’s game against Everton, manager Jürgen Klopp had said the Spaniard was close to a return.
Now, while Wednesday’s Champions League group stage opener against Napoli will almost certainly be too soon for Thiago to play a starring role from the start, the expectation will be for him to at least be able to be included on the mid-week bench.
Even having the ability to bring him on late should his talents be necessary for unlocking Napoli in the final 15-20 minutes of the game will improve the Reds’ chances of taking a positive result out of their first European match of the season.
More importantly, though, he will be needed in the weeks ahead for a schedule compressed by the upcoming winter World Cup and the games coming fast and furious, with Wolves on Saturday, Ajax next Tuesday, and Chelsea the following Sunday.
