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Liverpool Echo
Liverpool Echo
Sport
Ian Doyle

Why four Liverpool players missed training as new face spotted on sidelines

Liverpool are back. Well, at least some of Jurgen Klopp's squad have returned to the AXA Training Centre.

With the majority of the international players not due to reconvene until Tuesday, it was a mixture of select senior players and a host of youngsters who were put through their paces at Kirkby on Monday afternoon.

Liverpool will travel to Germany for a training camp at the weekend before they play their first pre-season friendly on Wednesday week in Karlsruhe.

But what could be gleaned from the latest session?

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Jorg in the house

Arguably the most notable presence at the AXA Training Centre wasn't one of the players.

While Jurgen Klopp and his coaching staff oversaw the session, new sporting director Jorg Schmadtke was able to watch on from the touchline for the first time since taking over from Julian Ward last month.

And with Liverpool short on playing numbers, former Northern Ireland under-21 international Conall Murtagh - Liverpool's first-team fitness coach - was prompted to put on the boots once again.

Quartet missing

There were only a handful of first-team squad regulars on display, with centre-backs Joe Gomez and Fabinho joined by striker Darwin Nunez and goalkeeper Adrian.

Indeed, a number of senior players were notable by their absence. Nat Phillips wasn't involved, while Thiago Alcantara and teenager Stefan Bajcetic continued elsewhere their individual rehabilitation programmes after injury ended their previous campaigns prematurely.

And Calvin Ramsay, another who was snapped at the weekend as the returning players were put through the usual fitness tests, was similarly absent as he prepares for a season-long loan move to Championship side Preston North End.

Morton the merrier

Another player to have had an enforced early end to the season was Tyler Morton, who had impressed on loan at Blackburn Rovers before fracturing his metatarsal in April.

Morton has been working at Kirkby on regaining his fitness over the summer, and was back on the grass running having been given a warm embrace by Klopp.

Meanwhile, the lack of senior players gave an opportunity to several Academy players, with Lewis Koumas and Harvey Blair among those making the step up. Ben Doak, who missed the last few games of the previous season with a minor injury, was also involved.

Clark's brave new look

New season is often the time for a new look. And none at Kirkby were quite as striking as that of Bobby Clark.

The teenage midfielder was sporting a fresh two-tone style that married a blonde crown with a more naturally darker back and sides.

With Clark having also grown a partial beard on his chin, his fresh appearance will undoubtedly not pass unnoticed when the rest of the squad return later in the week.

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