Jurgen Klopp has revealed that Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain is ahead of schedule in his recovery from a serious knee injury and could be back in full training around February time.
Oxlade-Chamberlain underwent knee surgery after sustaining multiple ligament damage during Liverpool’s Champions League semifinal in April.
Liverpool had thought it was possible Oxlade-Chamberlain would spend the entire 2018-19 season recovering from the injury, but last week saw the midfielder take a milestone in his recovery as he ran outside for the first time in eight months.
“Best news, best news. He started going on the pitch and from the first step he looked completely normal,” Klopp told a news conference on Friday.
“Sometimes when players are coming back from an injury and they start running but is not the picture you have in your mind. But with Ox, from the first step it looked like Ox and it was really nice.
“We had to wait for the reaction and there was no reaction, which is even nicer. So, no pressure on him, but it looks like February maybe he is back in normal training, late February, March, so that gives us hope he will be back this season.
“Usually we are not that excited about something like this — a lot of things can happen after being out for that long a time — but it looks so positive.
“It is nice to have him around with a smile on his face. He is obviously very happy and we are very happy about the improvement.” (ESPN)