Jurgen Klopp was delighted by Harvey Elliott’s ‘fairytale’ return for Liverpool as the 18-year marked his first appearance since dislocating his ankle back in September with his first Reds goal.
The teenanger returned to first team training last month, with his manager previously admitted he had to stop himself from throwing the youngster straight back into senior action, such was the impression he made on his return to training.
But the midfielder made up for any lost time in Liverpool’s 3-1 victory over Cardiff City on Sunday, scoring the Reds’ third to book their place in the FA Cup fifth round.
And Klopp was delighted by the midfielder’s impact as he again hailed the hard work that has gone on behind the scenes from both player and medical staff to get him back on the pitch.
“I am so pleased for him, absolutely,” the Liverpool boss told reporters after the game. “With the goal, it became a proper fairytale.
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“It’s not nice but the situation came up at Leeds and we lost him to this horrible injury. All the way through he was very patient. The medical department did an incredible job with him. He did all the necessary steps.
“Coming on is already a great step back but scoring a nice goal makes it a proper fairytale for him. I’m really happy for him. He was over the moon, it was really touching.
“Probably his biggest talent is how ready he is mentally for all the things out there. He is a kid, yes, but on the pitch not so much.
“He was buzzing and was really waiting for this moment. We were all waiting for it but that we could do it today was really nice.”
He continued: “Joe Lewis is our rehab physio. He works a lot together with our boys. The rehab process is headed up by Dr. Andreas Schlumberger.
“There are so many things to do in this long period. You can do a lot of wrong things. Happily and luckily we did the right stuff.
“He is back, that’s good. You need time, he was long out but he’s back and you could see that today.
“He is still an incredible footballer and we are all really, really happy about that.”
It’s easy to forget Elliott is still only 18 and has only started three Premier League games for Liverpool, with his ankle injury stopping him in his tracks just as he was cementing his place in the Reds first team squad.
And Klopp shared one exchange he had with the playmaker back in September at the AXA Training Centre to reiterate just how impressed he is with the youngster and demonstrate his maturity beyond his years.
“When he got the injury, I saw him two days later at the training ground and I was in a worse mood than he was,” the German admitted.
“He was saying, “Come on boss, head up! I’ll be back!” Stuff like this.
“He is an exceptional talent in a lot of different departments.”
