In a season of injury woe for Liverpool, perhaps no-one has endured worse luck than Luis Diaz.
The Colombia international has not featured since the 3-2 defeat to Arsenal on October 9, forced off midway through the loss at the Emirates after a tangle with Thomas Partey.
Diaz, whose season so far has totalled just 613 minutes, was forced to undergo surgery in December having suffered a major setback in his efforts to get back on the pitch. The former Porto winger was made to fly back to Merseyside while on the club's mid-season trip to Dubai having suffered the problem.
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Wednesday's trip to Real Madrid will be the 28th game that Klopp has been unable to select Diaz for and his absence has been keenly felt at times, particularly during a woeful start to 2023 when the Reds were also without Diogo Jota and Roberto Firmino.
Diaz continues to work towards his long-awaited Liverpool comeback and while this week's crucial Champions League tie in the Spanish capital may come too soon for the Los Cafeteros star, recent updates of him back on the pitches of the AXA Training Centre have at least been encouraging.
Klopp is likely to deliver the latest on Diaz in his Tuesday evening press conference at the Bernabeu but expectations should be tempered with regards to how much the winger is able to contribute between now and the end of the campaign. After such a lengthy and debilitating lay-off, it would be unfair to expect instant results from Diaz.
Jota's four-month absence between mid-October and February has impacted the Portugal international in his efforts to get back to the sort of levels he has generally been at during his time on Merseyside and it is understandable that rust is still present after a long time on the sidelines.
Klopp tried his best to play down that scenario, saying he was unconcerned about the prospect of Jota not being at his best until next term. "He is extremely smart football-wise," the manager said two months ago, "He will be back here again [in his mind] because it is like he is playing the games without playing the games.
"I don't know exactly how long he will be out for, but he looks really good. He is out there on the pitch and doing a lot of stuff already but he will be out for another few weeks."
But despite Klopp insisting Jota would not need months to be at his optimum level, the versatile forward is still waiting to take flight upon his comeback, even if the effort and work rate remain in place for the former Wolves man.
The same will surely apply for Diaz, meaning that it might be next season now when Liverpool fans see the electric winger at his very best in a Reds' shirt once more.
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