Jurgen Klopp has given an update on the fitness of six Liverpool players ahead of their trip to Brentford at the weekend.
The Reds boss named a much-changed side for the midweek cup tie with Norwich, allowing several of his squad a few extra days to recover.
Speaking on Thursday, Klopp revealed that he expects to have Trent Alexander-Arnold and Roberto Firmino in contention for the trip to West London, with both having returned to training.
The German coach also provided the latest on whether Naby Keita , James Milner, and Thiago Alcantara will be ready in time for the next Premier League clash, with the trio having had their own injury worries.
“Trent [Alexander-Arnold] was not injured, Trent was a little bit ill. He’s back in training, trained yesterday and will be fine,” Klopp said.
“Bobby [Firmino] trained already for two or three days, so he is back in contention, let me say it like this. We used him a little bit as a ‘joker’ [in training].
“But he will be in the normal training and then we have to make a decision if we take him with us or not. Porto, 100 percent. Brentford, we have to see.”
Conor Bradley made his Liverpool debut at right-back against Norwich in midweek, after Klopp had been unable to call upon Alexander-Arnold, as well as deputies Neco Williams and James Milner being unavailable.
Naby Keita also started the game at Carrow Road but went off with an injury at half-time, with the absence of Thiago also allowing teenager Tyler Morton to make his first appearance in a Reds shirt, alongside Curtis Jones.
With six people in total on his injury list, Klopp gave the latest news on the other four players managing their recovery, as the Reds look to get back to full-strength against Brentford.
“James [Milner] was a similar thing to Trent, so he should be recovered. I saw him running around here, nobody told me differently – I assume he will be in training today,” Klopp told the club website.
“Naby [Keita] probably not. It’s not a serious thing but we have to wait until the pain settles, pretty much. We will see about that. Thiago, no chance.
“Neco made [his] first steps the day before yesterday; yesterday [was] a [recovery] day; will be in training today, if it’s 100 percent, we will see how he can cope with it.”
