Harvey Elliott looks set to be available soon after the international break, with the midfielder joining full training with Liverpool U21s on Monday.
Elliott has only featured once this season, that being off the bench against Brentford at the end of August, and has not been involved at all since September.
The 21-year-old fractured his foot in training with England U21s in the season’s first international break, missing the last 14 games for Liverpool.
But while the club have been cautious with Elliott’s recovery, he is expected to be available upon the return of club football later this month.
Making progress ??? pic.twitter.com/lLwEADfOqv
— Liverpool FC (@LFC) November 11, 2024
That comes with Elliott joining Liverpool U21s for outdoor work at the AXA Training Centre on Monday, including taking part in small-sided games.
Elliott joined the likes of Kieran Morrison, Tom Hill, Dominic Corness, Amara Nallo and Isaac Mabaya for a lively session, almost a month after he began running again.
Provided he came through this session – and any subsequent sessions – without issue, it stands to reason that Elliott could be available for the trip to Southampton on November 24.
Whether Arne Slot will consider him for that clash or not remains to be seen, but the head coach will be eager to reintegrate a player who can ease the burden on his other midfielders.
Slot has rotated the quartet of Ryan Gravenberch, Alexis Mac Allister, Dominik Szoboszlai and Curtis Jones as Liverpool navigate a busy fixture list, with Szoboszlai and Jones also filling in as false nines.
This comes with both Diogo Jota and Federico Chiesa also sidelined, making the absence of Elliott particularly difficult.
Alongside Elliott in training was midfielder James McConnell, 20, who was initially part of the first-team squad for pre-season before picking up a long-term ankle injury.
McConnell is yet to feature at all this season but has stepped up his recovery work in recent weeks and now looks close to a return to action.
That will almost certainly come with the U21s, rather than the senior side, though Slot could call him into training with the first team at times.
U21s coach Barry Lewtas is without a number of players as training continues in the break, with the likes of Trey Nyoni, Keyrol Figueroa and Rio Ngumoha called up for international duty.
Tommy Pilling, Wellity Lucky, Oakley Cannonier, Carter Pinnington, Josh Davidson, James Norris, Ranel Young, Michael Laffey and Lee Jonas all joined Elliott for Monday’s session.
