Liverpool defender Nat Phillips has returned to Stuttgart to continue his loan spell after his brief return to Merseyside to help the Reds beat Everton in the FA Cup.
The Bolton-born centre-back was recalled during Germany's winter break as a defensive crisis bit at Anfield towards the end of December.
With just Joe Gomez and Virgil van Dijk as the only fit senior centre-halves, Phillips returned to his parent club and started alongside Gomez in the 1-0 win over Everton in the FA Cup last Sunday.
With Joel Matip and Dejan Lovren recovering from their injury issues and now expected to be back in contention for next weekend's visit to Anfield of Manchester United, the 22-year-old defender has now returned to Germany to continue his loan spell.
Sporting director Sven Mislintat has spoken to Stuttgart's official website about his delight at getting Phillips back on board for the rest of thse season and how he believes 'Die Roten''s relationship with Liverpool helped them find a solution.
“We are very pleased that Nathaniel is available straight away to join our team again after his return to Liverpool", he said.
"We have had and continue to have a very constructive dialogue that is based on mutual trust with our Liverpool counterparts.
"And this made it possible to find a solution that benefits all sides at the end of the day.”
Phillips has already made nine league appearances already for Stuttgart this season and, given how helpful the German club have been over Phillips' loan given the short-term injury Liverpool faced, they could find themselves called upon again the next time a destination is being sought to provide a young player with valuable first team experience.
