Harvey Elliott admits he has been left amazed by Luis Diaz's impact after returning from a long-term knee injury - and hopes the Colombian can enjoy a strong end to the Premier League season in preparation for next term.
On Sunday, the 26-year-old forward marked his first Premier League start since October 9 by scoring in Liverpool's pulsating 4-3 victory over Tottenham Hotspur as he emphatically finished Cody Gakpo's cut-back to double the Reds' early lead.
That particular landmark came more than six months after he sustained the serious knee injury in the 3-2 defeat at the Emirates. Diaz had initially returned to first-team training during the mid-season training camp in Dubai but after just one session the Colombian suffered a serious setback and therefore required surgery which would rule him out for a further five months.
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But after Sunday's electrifying outing against the North London outfit, Elliott, who was in a position not too dissimilar to Diaz last season as he was sidelined for six months with an ankle fracture, has admitted the Colombian's return has re-energised the entire Liverpool squad.
"It’s amazing – not just me but everyone, the whole building is buzzing to see him back," Elliott told Liverpoolfc.com. "And the fans are as well.
"We’re all around him, we’re all so pleased for him. As everyone saw, his emotion after scoring the goal, each and every one of us all felt the same for him. We were all just so pleased."
After making his long-anticipated return to Premier League action in the closing stages of last month's 6-1 thrashing of Leeds United at Elland Road, Diaz has featured a further three times for Jurgen Klopp's side with each performance more impressive than the last; something Elliott admits he has been left amazed by.
"There was a lot of talk obviously before the game, seeing if he’s ready to start," added the 20-year-old midfielder. "He looks like he hasn’t been out. The way he contributed to the game and for his goal and how hard he worked, it’s just great to see that an injury like that can set someone back but [he can] still come back firing.
"Hopefully he can kick on now and stay away from injuries and get a good run of games together before the end of the season."
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