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Liverpool: Thiago’s return date revealed

Thiago Alcantara - Liverpool
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The Spanish midfielder will not be able to play for the Reds until after the international break.

Thiago Alcantara has been out of action since testing positive for COVID-19 in mid-December. The Liverpool midfielder suffered a hip injury after recovering from the virus, missing his side’s last nine games.

Ahead of Liverpool’s upcoming Carabao Cup clash against Arsenal, Jurgen Klopp’s assistant Pepijn Lijnders has provided an update on Thiago’s injury.

He said (via Liverpool Echo): “Thiago, hopefully he will be in full team training after the international break to prepare for the Cardiff game.”

The assistant manager did not give an exact return date for Divok Origi.

“Divock will not be ready until after Cardiff,” Lijnders added.

The Cardiff game is in FA Cup’s fourth round, taking place on February 6. Klopp will most likely keep on using Curtis Jones in midfield while giving Origi’s minutes to Takumi Minamino. 

Another injured player is Alex-Oxlade Chamberlain, who limped off Liverpool’s win against Brentford with an ankle injury. The Reds published a short clip on social media that showed he is undergoing tests to determine the severity of his injury. However, Lijnders is optimistic he will make his return soon.

 He added: “I spoke yesterday with him (Oxlade-Chamberlain) and he feels okay,

“It’s not that bad,

“He’s really hoping that he will make the weekend but tomorrow will be way too soon.

“We assess that day by day.”

Following the match against Arsenal, the Reds will face Crystal Palace in their next league game on Sunday.

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