Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain has praised Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp for sticking by him as he continues his recovery from a long-term knee injury.
The England international tore his anterior cruciate ligament in the 5-2 win over Roma in last season's Champions League semi-final in April and is hoping to return before the end of the season.
Oxlade-Chamberlain, who arrived at Anfield from Arsenal in a £35 million deal in January 2017, had been enjoying a regular run in the side before sustaining the injury.
But while the 25-year-old has admitted it's been tough being on the sidelines, Klopp has done everything to ensure he has been involved with the team while he recovers.
"He's been massive," Oxlade-Chamberlain told Liverpool's TV channel. "Whenever I see him he's always got a smile on his face.
"He's really positive and keeps me in his thoughts and when he talks about the team he'll mention me, which is obviously really nice, especially when the boys are doing so well.
"The important thing as well is that he's given me time. He told me, 'Look, we know how long this going to be, don't worry about it, get yourself right and then we'll go again' which is really nice to hear."
The Portsmouth-born midfielder, who is targeting a return to action in May, revealed he knew the severity of the injury as soon as it happened
Asked if he knew it was bad, he replied: "Yeah, I've had loads of kicks over the years and I'm not really too fussed about them.
"I like to get up pretty quickly even if it hurts. But this one, straightaway I thought, 'I'm in a bit of trouble here, something bad's happened.' I think we all knew from my reaction, I don't really react like that.
"I remember sitting in the recovery room in the tunnel and I just said, 'Is it ACL? Is it bad?' and they said 'We're worried about that, but we don't know, we're going to have to check it'. Obviously, as it turned out, it was."
