Jurgen Klopp handed huge fitness boost as Liverpool star returns to training
By Tom Gott
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has been boosted by the return to training of centre-back Ibrahima Konate after three weeks out with a hamstring injury.
The 23-year-old missed the start of the season with a knee injury and has been in and out of the side ever since, with various fitness worries limiting him to just ten appearances across all competitions this campaign.
Konate has been Jurgen Klopp's preferred partner for Virgil van Dijk when fit, but has had a watching brief for a number of games as Joel Matip and Joe Gomez have attempted to fill the void.
But with the fixtures continuing to pile up, Klopp has revealed that Konate is close to reuniting with Van Dijk in the heart of Liverpool's defence.
"Ibou is near," the German confirmed. "But he has had just two sessions after a long injury."
Klopp is reluctant to rush Konate back to action, however, and went on to admit that a number of other Liverpool stars are still getting up to speed after significant periods out of action.
"You can see when the boys come on, [like Diogo Jota and Roberto Firmino], they are not at their best yet. We have to make changes, and we will.
"It's not that you come back from a long injury and it clicks back to normal, and it's like that for Virgil too."
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Liverpool's defence was woefully exposed last time out against Real Madrid. A two-goal lead was quickly dismantled as the Reds shipped five unanswered goals from the reigning European champions.
"We watched the game back, no time to watch it with the players," Klopp admitted. "Same with training, not a lot of time to use. I don't read a lot but when you lose like this, it makes no sense to listen. Conceding five in a home game in the Champions League is not acceptable, I know that.
"It's not that you can work on a lot of stuff between Wednesday and Saturday. When you lose a game like that it makes no sense to read or listen to what people say. But the first half was a really good half. A lot of things are back but not stable - that's why we conceded the goals.
"The second half had the worst start for us. What I saw was a lot of things are back but not stable yet. It was a night which wasn't helpful but we have to work with it. We prepare for two days and again today. Hopefully we learn the right things."