Kaide Gordon is closing in on a return for Liverpool after stepping up his recovery, having been sidelined since last February with a pelvic injury.
The 18-year-old burst onto the scene for the Reds last season after impressing in pre-season, as he made his professional debut in the League Cup at Norwich City before scoring his first goal against Shrewsbury Town in the FA Cup. Meanwhile, he even started the League Cup semi-final second leg away at Arsenal last January.
However, his progress was curtailed the following month, with the winger's last outing at any level coming for the Under-21s against Leeds United last February.
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Having been sidelined for nearly a year, Gordon is now back running on the pitch at least, as Liverpool continue to monitor the teenager's return carefully.
“He’s on the pitch, he’s running,” Under-21s manager Barry Lewtas told the ECHO after his side’s 4-2 victory over Paris Saint-Germain in the Premier League International Cup last week.
“The idea is to build him up and take care. He’s eligible to play for the youth team (Under-18s), which shows how young he is. We have to be careful with the injury, but everything is going to plan and hopefully soon he will be an option for us.”
Despite his time on the sidelines, Gordon has still travelled with Liverpool to Austria and Dubai for pre-season and mid-season training camps as he has continued his rehabilitation, working away from the main group with the club’s rehab fitness coach David Rydings.
And speaking after the latter, Reds assistant manager Pep Lijnders, who played a key role in Gordon's initial promotion to Jurgen Klopp's first team, insisted Liverpool haven't forgotten the youngster despite his lengthy lay-off and the likes of Ben Doak emerging in his absence.
“With these long-term injuries, there is a lot of uncertainty, but Kaide is very professional and gives everything,” Lijnders said after last month’s training camp in Dubai.
“I hope we can see him back, without putting pressure on the boy. Just to tell him as well that we didn’t forget him. Even when new boys are coming up and making big steps, we never will forget the ‘old’ young ones.”
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