Arne Slot has revealed when Federico Chiesa is expected to rejoin full training with Liverpool, with the head coach admitting his injury is “far from ideal.”
The excitement around Chiesa’s move to Anfield at the end of the summer transfer window has been clouded by an ongoing fitness issue for the forward.
Having been frozen out of the first-team squad at Juventus, the 27-year-old arrived desperately short of match fitness, and early attempts to ease him into action led to injury.
Chiesa has missed the last eight games and will sit out of the clash with Aston Villa on Saturday night, with Slot hoping he can then return to team training after the international break.
Speaking to journalists including the Liverpool Echo‘s Paul Gorst, the head coach detailed his comeback after missing a “great moment” for game time.
“I would not use the word concern but it is far from ideal for him and us,” Slot admitted.
“Because with the injury of Dioga we have four attackers available, so this could have been a great moment for him to get more playing time.
“It is difficult for a player who missed out on pre-season and playing pre-season games and training sessions. You have to give a player more time to get to the intensity levels.
“It is a difficult balance to get him where we want but we are trying and he is trying everything he can to get to these levels.
“Once he is at that physical level we will benefit from having him.
“At this moment we expect him back during the international break and then he should be with us after the international break normally.”
With Diogo Jota also out until after the international break, Slot has been required to rotate his options in attack with Mohamed Salah, Darwin Nunez, Luis Diaz and Cody Gakpo playing consistently.
Dominik Szoboszlai and Curtis Jones have both been used as unorthodox options up front, while Diaz scored a hat-trick after starting as a No. 9 against Bayer Leverkusen.
But Slot is right in describing this as having been a “good moment” for Chiesa had he been fit, with the Italian considered an alternative both on the right wing and up front.
It is unlikely Chiesa will be considered for the trip to Southampton on November 24 – though it is possible – while after that come clashes with Real Madrid and Man City.
