Four Liverpool players are in rehab as the club begin pre-season training today (Monday), according to the Echo.
The regional newspaper claim Joel Matip, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Rhian Brewster and Allan Rodrigues de Sousa will work with the club’s medical and sports science staff as they are not yet ready to be put through their paces by Jurgen Klopp and his coaching staff.
The Echo report the quartet are carrying injuries from last season and over the summer as Klopp, aided by the Reds’ head of fitness and conditioning Andreas Kornmayer, looks to get the players up to speed ahead of the first of their pre-season fixtures on Saturday at Chester.
OPINION
Of the quartet in rehab, Matip and Oxlade-Chamberlain are key first teamers, while Brewster could have a big role to play this season. The same cannot be said for Brazilian Allan, who is yet to secure a work permit and is set to once again be sent out on loan. Oxlade-Chamberlain is set to be sidelined until late autumn after undergoing knee surgery in April, but the expectation is that centre-back Matip and striker Brewster can soon be back in training. Matip will look to gain an early edge over Dejan Lovren, who has been a key part of the Croatia squad that reached the quarter-finals of the World Cup with a penalty shootout win over Denmark last night. Lovren has been outstanding for club and country in 2018, and ended last season as Virgil van Dijk’s first choice partner. Matip has generally been regarded as the more reliable of the two since joining in 2016 but he will need a strong pre-season to get the nod to start alongside the big Dutchman in the Premier League opener on 11 August.
