Express. Home of the Daily and Sunday Express.
Liverpool News: Adam Lallana to hand Jurgen Klopp major injury boost
LIVERPOOL midfielder Adam Lallana is closing in on a return to fitness.
Liverpool midfielder Adam Lallana is closing in on a return from injury
Lallana, 29, has not featured for the Reds this season after rupturing his thigh in pre-season.
According to The Telegraph, he is set to play a behind-closed-doors match next week.
A number of senior players who are not on international duty, such as Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and James Milner, are also likely to be involved.
Liverpool hope he could be available to face Lallana’s former club Southampton after the international break on November 18.
Speaking after Lallana’s return to training last month, Jurgen Klopp said: “It's absolutely good news.
Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp
“I cannot say now [when he will return], but maybe after the next international break he could be back.
“It would be fantastic for us, of course. Everybody knows what kind of a quality player he is.”
Lallana, who scored eight goals last term, has been hailed as a key component of Liverpool boss Klopp’s gegenpressing system.
Meanwhile, Klopp will be keeping a close eye on Sadio Mane and Philippe Coutinho’s fitness during the international break.
Mane recently recovered from a hamstring injury while Coutinho has an “abductor muscle injury”.
Brazil’s doctor Rodrigo Lasmar said: “The chances that he will play against Japan are tiny, but we are working to make him available against England.”