Jürgen Klopp will give Divock Origi every opportunity to play for Liverpool again this season and has not ruled out Danny Ings and Emre Can making comebacks before the end of the campaign.
Scans have confirmed Origi suffered ankle ligament damage as a result of Ramiro Funes Mori’s foul in the Merseyside derby on Wednesday and the in-form striker is expected to require four to six weeks to recover. The Belgium international’s absence will be longer if it is decided to operate.
Despite the prognosis, Klopp has refused to rule out Origi from his plans for the remainder of the season, which will run until 18 May – less than four weeks away – should Liverpool overcome Villarreal in the Europa League semi-finals. “I don’t want to say now, in this moment, the season is over for Divock because I don’t think it is,” the Liverpool manager said.
“Obviously, very often with injuries like this it is over, but let’s see what we can do and work on it. The player was in a good moment. It was the same with Emre Can, not the best moment for him to take a break, and the same with Hendo [Jordan Henderson]. That’s how it is and you have to accept it. You can suffer if you want but I can’t do that in my job. After the game I was not too happy with the situation but I woke up the next morning and knew I was used to handling situations like this.”
Klopp’s hope of a rapid recovery for the 21-year-old may be influenced by Can’s response to his ankle injury. Liverpool initially set a four- to six-week timeframe for the German midfielder to recover from a ruptured ankle ligament sustained in the win over Borussia Dortmund. A four-week recovery would make Can available for the final Premier League game of the season plus the Europa League final should Liverpool progress, but he is expected to return ahead of schedule.
“He’s recovering much better,” said Klopp. “There might be a new timescale but I’m not telling you because there is no proof yet! But he is very good.”
Christian Benteke is close to resuming first-team training following a knee problem. Ings, who suffered a cruciate injury in October, is expected back within the fortnight, although whether he will be match-fit before the end of the campaign remains doubtful after a six-month lay-off.
The Liverpool manager explained: “Danny’s in a really good way but he’s not back in team training yet. Maybe two weeks, I’m not too sure. It was four or five days ago when someone sent me the email saying it was two weeks until he could train with the team. I don’t know if he will be able to play again this season, that depends on how he recovers. He’s been out for a long time.”
