Ibrahima Konate has handed Liverpool a significant injury boost as he gets set to return to full training.
The centre-back is yet to feature this season after picking up a problem in the 3-0 friendly defeat to Strasbourg at the end of July.
The muscle injury has seen Konate miss eight games and two months in total but the 23-year-old is now getting ready for contention once more after the non-internationals reported for duty at the AXA Centre this week.
The former RB Leipzig man has been cleared to make his comeback after continuing his rehab programme during the international break and could be in line for a recall to a squad that also has Virgil van Dijk, Joel Matip, Joe Gomez and Nat Phillips to call on at centre-half.
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Klopp 's preferred method of reintroducing injured players into the fold is to give them two full sessions with the main group before considering the player for selection once again.
However, the number of fit options already available to Klopp means it is unlikely Konate will be risked from the start when Brighton visit Anfield on Saturday lunchtime under new manager Roberto De Zerbi. His fitness levels will be assessed ahead of that game and whether he can come back into the fold in time for the weekend.
Instead, the centre-half could realistically target Tuesday's visit from Rangers as his first competitive start for the Reds since May's Champions League defeat to Real Madrid at the Stade de France.
Klopp is expected to deliver an update on the £36m defender when he meets the media on Friday afternoon to preview Saturday's match at Anfield, one that will be the Reds' first in the Premier League since the win over Newcastle on August 31.
Konate's return will be viewed as a sizable boost for Klopp as he continues to whittle down an injury list that now stands at six with Andy Robertson, Naby Keita, Curtis Jones, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Calvin Ramsay and goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher all still sidelined.
Ramsay joined the club from Aberdeen over the summer carrying a problem and Ireland international Kelleher has been out of action since pre-season himself. Robertson suffered a knee issue during the defeat to Napoli last month and missed the Reds' most recent game which saw them beat Ajax 2-1 at Anfield in the Champions League on September 13. Oxlade-Chamberlain, Keita and Jones are yet to play a minute this term.
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