According to a recent report by the Liverpool Echo, England midfielder Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain is set to return from his knee injury soon as he prepares to take part in Liverpool Under-23’s match against Derby County Under-23 on Friday afternoon. The same source has revealed that the Reds sensation, who has been out of action for the past 11 months, will get some minutes on the pitch versus the Rams at Derby County’s training ground later this week.
It is no surprise to see Jurgen Klopp wanting the midfielder to get some game time on the field before he gets involved in the Liverpool first-team. Oxlade-Chamberlain could still play an essential part in his team’s title challenge this season as the matches come thick and fast heading into the business end of the season.
There is a big question mark on whether the English talent can hit the ground running after such a lengthy injury lay-off so it would be interesting to see how he performs against Derby on Friday. The Portsmouth born prospect completed a high-profile switch to Liverpool at the start of the previous campaign.
However, he, unfortunately, ruptured his knee ligaments in the first leg of Liverpool’s semi-final clash against AS Roma in the UEFA Champions League last season.
He has gradually completed his long road to recovery over the past year and is now on the verge of making a comeback to first-team action. Oxlade-Chamberlain is blessed with good pace and power which helps him dribble with the ball behind the opposition backline.
The fact that he could be ready for first-team duties soon will be a massive boost for Liverpool and their title chances going into the final nine matches of this campaign. The Reds are currently occupying the second spot in the league table, just a point behind Manchester City in the race for the league title.
Except for the Watford win, the Merseyside giants have struggled to breakdown their opposition over the past few matches which has mainly been down to their lack of creativity from midfield. Hence, Oxlade-Chamberlain could ease Klopp’s creative woes as he can create chances from midfield while also being a significant threat in the final third. His return will be a massive boost for Liverpool, so it will be interesting to see how Klopp incorporates him back to his starting XI at Anfield.
