Liverpool started week three of their pre-season preparations back at the AXA Training Centre having spent last week in Bangkok and Singapore as they embarked on their first summer tour since 2019. Jurgen Klopp took 37 players to the Far East and heavily rotated his side during the games against Manchester United and Crystal Palace, though, it will be this week as they head for the European leg of their new-season preparations that the real work will begin.
But before the Reds do head out to their training base in Germany and Austria, this week's sessions started back on the familiar Merseyside soil.
Here's five things we spotted from Monday's training session.
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Gomez returns
Joe Gomez took part in the full first-team training session on Monday afternoon after suffering a knock ahead of last Friday's game against Crystal Palace. Speaking at the time, his manager downplayed the issue which had kept Gomez sidelined, and forced him to exit training early on Thursday, describing the decision not include the 25-year-old in the squad as a "precaution".
The England international could be seen participating in the warm-up drills with the rest of his teammates and the small-sided games which took place later in the session.
Trio absent
Despite the return of Gomez after a brief injury lay-off, he was the only member of Klopp's squad to return to training after he and three other senior players picked up injuries last week.
Diogo Jota suffered a relapse of the hamstring injury which occurred last month while turning out for Portugal in their UEFA Nations League matches against Switzerland. The forward, who only returned to pre-season training last weekend ahead of the tour of the Far East, missed the game against Manchester United as he continued his initial rehabilitation before he was forced to sit out of the victory over Palace.
Klopp revealed Jota would be in a race against time to be fit for the start of Liverpool's season, which gets underway against Manchester City on July 30, because of the setback.
Alisson also joined Jota on the sidelines after he picked up an abdominal injury, according to his manager. However, Klopp confirmed that the Brazilian will be able to take part in other "non-goalie" training until he is fit again, and insisted he could be back in time to face the Citizens at the end of the month.
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain was the third member of the Reds' squad to suffer a pre-season setback as he pulled up with a hamstring injury moments before half-time in the game against Crystal Palace. Liverpool flew back home straight after the game on Friday afternoon and his manager confirmed that the midfielder would undergo a scan upon their return to Merseyside.
With the trio not pictured during Monday's session at the AXA, it is expected that they have begun their rehabilitation work or the early stages of diagnosing their injuries.
Academy flourish
Isaac Mabaya, Stefan Bajcetic, Tyler Morton and Harvey Davies continued to train with the Liverpool first-team as their bid to impress Klopp ahead of the new season continued.
The quartet had been part of the Reds' 37-man squad that were in Asia last week and with the number of players training with the senior squad appearing to have been whittled down ahead of week three, there was still room for the aforementioned players to train alongside Luis Diaz, Jordan Henderson and Mohammed Salah.
Mabaya, 17, impressed during a half-hour cameo against Manchester United last Tuesday as attack-minded approach supporters, while Davies kept a clean sheet during the second half of the 2-0 victory over Patrick Viera's men on Friday.
Expected absences
Virgil van Dijk, Darwin Nunez and Thiago Alcantara were among those also not pictured in training on Monday afternoon. However, their absence is easily explained as they, along with the other members of the squad who undertook international duty in June, were more than likely handed a few days off after completing their first week of pre-season.
Having only returned from the vacations last weekend ahead of flying out to Asia, it's been a gruelling introduction for the international cohort who will no doubt need their rest ahead of the European-based training camp later this week.
Heat-wave
With temperatures soaring across England this week, the Liverpool manager seemed to have had enough of the sun as he was pictured taking cover under one of the training ground's limited trees.
Despite being from Colombia, Diaz seemed to also loath the heat the country was suffering on Monday afternoon as he poured water over his face during a drinks break at the AXA.
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