Diogo Jota is stepping up his return to action as Liverpool’s dire injury situation looks set to gradually improve.
The Portuguese winger has not played since the 1-0 Premier League win over Manchester City on October 16, when he suffered a serious calf injury that ruled him out of the subsequent World Cup in Qatar.
Jota - who did not require surgery - has been among the key absentees during a hugely frustrating campaign for Liverpool that sees them sit ninth in the top-flight and fully 10 points adrift of the top four having also now been knocked out of both domestic cup competitions.
But the former Wolves star looks set to return to full-time first-team training at Kirkby next week, with Luis Diaz, Virgil van Dijk and Roberto Firmino also making good progress in their respective comeback bids.
Juventus loanee Arthur Melo is also progressing well in his recovery from thigh surgery, with Fabio Carvalho and Nat Phillips now back fit after minor issues.
However, centre-back Ibrahima Konate remains sidelined with a number of key matches on the horizon including Premier League clashes with Everton and Newcastle and the small matter of a two-legged Champions League last-16 showdown with holders Real Madrid in a repeat of last year’s final.
“Generally it’s looking better,” Klopp told reporters of his injury situation ahead of Saturday’s latest trip to face familiar opponents Wolves at Molineux.
“The boys are training, Diogo Jota had a full session with the team this week but then the next day had again a rehab session, not because of the session the day before, it was just part of the plan. I think he will be back in normal training next week.
“Bobby [Firmino] is getting closer obviously, very good. Luis [Diaz] is running now, it will take a few weeks still but he is now out on the pitch as well running, which is really good.
“Ibou [Konate] is out. Virgil [Van Dijk] is getting closer, but not ready for the [Wolves] game obviously. Parts of training, I think, next week as well for Virgil. I think there is nothing else so far, but there’s still two hours before training so a lot can happen.
“Ibou has a muscle injury. Again he didn’t think it was massive, it happened in the game, I asked him after the game, ‘Are you OK?’ and he said, ‘Yeah, I’m OK.’ After the game [he had] treatment, scan, bam, out.”
