A number of Liverpool first-team stars were pictured back at the AXA Training Centre on Saturday afternoon after being granted a rare week off.
Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane, Gini Wijnaldum, Diogo Jota, Thiago Alcantara, and Andy Robertson were all back in action for the first time since the 1-0 victory at Molineux on Monday.
This was encouraging to see as a number of the aforementioned names gear up for international involvement next week. Liverpool aren’t back in Premier League action until April 3, where they face Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium.
The Reds then await Real Madrid in the Champions League quarter-finals following Friday’s highly anticipated draw.
There was no sign of Trent Alexander-Arnold, who isn’t as it stands involved with England next week after he was omitted from Gareth Southgate’s 23-man squad on Thursday.
This afternoon’s session was overseen by Jurgen Klopp, who is desperate to ensure that rhythm and sharpness aren’t compromised after two morale-boosting wins against Wolves and RB Leipzig.
And according to The Athletic, those who are going away on international duty next week have been granted time off this week.
It’s a smaller group than usual due to the cancellation of the South American World Cup qualifiers but includes the likes of Salah, Mane, Thiago, Jota, Wijnaldum and Robertson.
Usually, Liverpool would have used the break to jet off with their families in search of some downtime, but such a luxury hasn’t been made available to them as a result of the ongoing pandemic.
Those who aren’t going to represent their countries will continue to train at the AXA Training Centre this week. Alexander-Arnold, then, could be back in Liverpool training as early as Monday.
The report adds that the players have been given individualised programmes drawn up by the sports science staff in dialogue with the coaches. Factors such as the amount of game time they have played this season have all been considered.
Those who have hardly played will have extra work to undertake over the next week to ensure rhythm and sharpness are maintained.