Liverpool have been handed a boost with the return to training of Kaide Gordon after the starlet missed all of last season through injury.
Gordon, a wide forward, joined the Reds for a seven-figure fee in 2021 after coming through the ranks at boyhood club Derby County. He was just 16 when he made his Rams debut, and played four times for Liverpool - scoring once - in the 2021-22 season.
Towards the end of that campaign, however, a pelvic issue saw the teenager sidelined just weeks after staring against Arsenal in the Carabao Cup semi-final. He has yet to make an appearance since, but the long wait could soon be over.
According to The Athletic, Gordon is poised to resume full training this summer after returning to the grass in May. He will reportedly stay on a personalised training plan, with the club looking to ease him back in.
“As hard as it is, he probably just needs to reintegrate into the Under-21s in pre-season, find his feet and see how he is," Liverpool academy manager Alex Inglethorpe told the same publication. "He’s got to learn to trust his body again and get his rhythm back. After that, anything is possible.”
Three of Gordon's four Liverpool outings have been starts, with the only exception being his Premier League debut against Brentford. He became the club's youngest FA Cup scorer when he netted against Shrewsbury, and also scored four times in eight Premier League 2 appearances.
What are you expecting from Kaide Gordon this season? Have your say in the comments section
"He is a special kid, everyone knows that," manager Jurgen Klopp said after Gordon scored his first senior goal. "He is really calm, great finisher. But he can improve he needs to get more involved in the game.
"Obviously finishing-wise he's an adult, his finishing is really exceptional, but all the rest he is still a kid. So playing the position the way he plays, there is so much to improve."
Gordon's return comes after Liverpool welcomed back fellow forward Luis Diaz at the tail end of last season. The Colombian international, signed in January 2022, missed several months of football with a knee injury but returned to play a part in the final nine games of the campaign.
Liverpool have already spent big to strengthen their squad going into the new season as they aim to return to the top four. Alexis Mac Allister has joined from Brighton, with Dominik Szoboszlai following in a £60m switch from RB Leipzig.
Klopp's team will begin their campaign with a trip to Chelsea, who are in the midst of a rebuild of their own under new manager Mauricio Pochettino. Liverpool's first home league game, on the weekend of August 19, sees them take on Bournemouth.
