Ben Doak was a revelation for Middlesbrough on loan but surgery on a thigh injury earlier this season has put his immediate future in doubt with eight Championship games remaining.
Doak was an ever-present for Michael Carrick’s side before a thigh injury derailed his campaign earlier this year, with surgery forcing a return to the AXA Training Centre.
The 19-year-old last featured on January 25 and Boro have since won only three of their last nine to move outside the play-off spots with nine games left of the regular campaign.
A definitive decision on whether he is capable of returning to his loan spell has yet to be made, but the Northern Echo‘s Dominic Shaw has underlined the role Liverpool will play.
“Doak would be eligible to feature in the play-offs should Boro finish in the top six,” he writes, but Liverpool will decide if he is “ready to play and if they were willing to sanction his involvement on the back of a lay-off.”
Liverpool will feel little pressure should Doak prove his fitness before the end of Boro’s season, as they will want him back at 100 percent for pre-season and a potential move.
The club rejected advances from both Ipswich and Crystal Palace in the January transfer window, with bids of up to £16 million turned down.
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Boro and Liverpool “remain in close contact over Doak” post-surgery but Carrick is not working on the assumption he will welcome back one of his key creators.
“He’s had a really good time here, Ben,” Carrick told reporters ahead of his side’s return this weekend. “It was a good fit from the start, in terms of his position and how we played.
“The way he receives the ball and how he wants it, I think it was just a good fit. You can see he has improved a lot as a player as well and had success with Scotland.
“So I think that side of things, he’s definitely developed and it’s been a good experience for him. We’ll see what’s next for him. Hopefully, we can get him back, but we’ll just have to see.”
Prior to his injury, Doak had featured 24 times, scored three and set up seven as he showcased his ability to drive the ball up the pitch, qualities that Boro have since missed.
He is not the only Liverpool youngster left waiting to see if he can return from injury before the season ends, with Jayden Danns‘ loan at Sunderland also in doubt due to a back injury.
