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Liverpool Echo
Liverpool Echo
Sport
Mark Wakefield

Five things spotted in Liverpool training as key duo return and Luis Diaz and 10 others absent

Liverpool have been back in training on Friday as they prepare for their next test in the Premier League.

The Reds claimed a 2-0 win over Leicester City in their last match, thanks to a brace from Diogo Jota.

New signing Luis Diaz was handed his first start by Jurgen Klopp in the victory at Anfield, Mohamed Salah returned from Africa Cup of Nations duty, but Sadio Mane was absent after only just landing in Merseyside hours before kick-off.

With an away trip to Burnley awaiting Liverpool this weekend, the players and manager Klopp have been back at the AXA Training Centre for their latest session.

READ MORE: Diogo Jota opens up major transfer possibilities as Liverpool masterplan comes together

READ MORE: James Maddison embarrassed by Liverpool as Jurgen Klopp fumes at referee

Here is a look at some of the things we noticed.

Where’s Diaz?

After making his first two appearances in the space of a few days, Liverpool new boy Diaz is beginning to settle in at Anfield.

However, the latest round of training pictures showed that the Colombian was nowhere to be seen, prompting understandable concerns over his fitness.

Klopp did not say there were any fitness issues over Diaz in his press conference on Friday morning, so his absence is more than likely either a precaution or because he’s in recovery.

Other absentees

Diaz wasn’t the only notable absentee from the latest round of training pictures.

Jota, after his goalscoring heroics against Leicester, was not in the session - and neither was a host of other players.

Alisson Becker, Virgil van Dijk, Andy Robertson, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Joel Matip, Fabinho, Curtis Jones, Thiago Alcantara and Roberto Firmino.

What should be pointed out is these are the players who all started against Leicester on Thursday night.

So it's more than likely that each of these players were taking part in their own recovery programme rather than a full session.

Mane returns

One player who has returned to training is Mane, fresh from his involvement with Senegal at the Africa Cup of Nations.

Klopp confirmed in his press conference that he hoped to have the forward available to face Burnley on Sunday, providing his fitness levels are okay.

Mane was given extra time off to celebrate with his country following their victory in the tournament, and was not involved in the win over Leicester on Thursday.

Henderson relief

Another piece of welcome good news is Jordan Henderson’s return to full training.

The Reds captain missed the win over Leicester after suffering from a back injury, which Klopp admitted at the time was not that serious.

Now Henderson has returned to full team training and is a likely candidate to be included in the Liverpool starting line-up at Turf Moor on Sunday.

Rhys Williams is back

The January transfer window saw Rhys Williams return from his loan spell with Swansea City.

No further loan deal could be agreed in time before the deadline, so the young centre-back is back at Kirkby and will likely be a contender to feature for the Under-23s.

Williams was pictured taking part in the full training session with the first team, along with a host of other youngsters.

Kaide Gordon and Tyler Morton were also involved in the session.

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