Arne Slot has welcomed the return to availability of Harvey Elliott after a long-term foot injury, but warned that he would need to “give him time” to readjust.
Elliott returned to full training at the AXA during the international break, first working with the U21s and then the first-team players who were not on duty.
Friday will see him work with the full senior squad again after over two months out with a fractured foot sustained on England U21s duty in September.
While that could put him in contention for the trip to Southampton on Sunday, Slot insisted that he would still need to take caution as Elliott finds his sharpness again.
“We always want all of our players available and it was a blow for him and for us that he got injured for such a long time,” Slot explained in his pre-match press conference.
“I think he’s been out for three months now. Now we also have to give him time to come back to his normal level.
“I just spoke about Ibou Konate who was out from playing football for maybe two, three or four months, because he didn’t play at the end of the season and didn’t play at the Euros.
“As a result of that his first game against Man United in pre-season wasn’t his best.
“That is something which is completely normal for a football player and this is something we have to take into consideration with Harvey as well.
“Yes, he’s training with us again, but that’s different from being on the top of your game immediately again.
“We have to give him time for this as well.
“But I’m very fortunate that he’s back, especially with the amount of games that are coming up in the coming two, three or four months.”
The clash with Southampton may be a perfect opportunity to at least bring Elliott back in from the bench, but then Liverpool face two decisive clashes with Real Madrid and Man City in the space of five days.
Not only is their schedule particularly busy at this stage of the season but they are in the midst of a relentless run when it comes to the quality of their opponents.
Elliott’s minutes will come, of course, but there is no surprise that Slot will be patient while the likes of Curtis Jones and Dominik Szoboszlai are rotated as No. 10s.
