Liverpool midfielder Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain has begun ‘cranking up’ training sessions ahead of his return from injury.
That’s according to The Athletic, who claim that the 29-year-old is slowly increasing the intensity of his workload.
Oxlade-Chamberlain has missed the last three months of action after suffering a torn hamstring during pre-season. No timeline is given on an expected return date, but the inference is that it could be very soon.
With Diogo Jota and Luis Diaz out injured, Ox’s return would be a timely boost for Jurgen Klopp. The England man is reportedly still seen as being an option on either wing for Liverpool.
Ox gets final chance to make contract claim
Towards the end of last season, it had looked inevitable that Oxlade-Chamberlain would leave Liverpool in the summer.
The No.15 barely featured in the final months of the campaign as the Reds chased their doomed quadruple. With his contract due to expire in June next year, it seemed like a wise move for Liverpool to cash in.
Instead, Ox stuck around. Upon the team joining back up for pre-season he looked like a man with a point to prove.
Unfortunately, as it often has for the former Arsenal man, injury struck. Immediately, it appeared as though Oxlade-Chamberlain would be missing for some time.
Over the opening months of the season, it has often been easy to forget that the player who Andy Robertson once called ‘unbelievable’ was still at Liverpool.
It also felt as though when his return eventually came, he wouldn’t be anywhere near the team. But football has a funny way of opening previously closed doors.
The injuries to Jota and Diaz could now present Ox with a surprising opportunity. His appeal to Klopp has always been his versatility. Some may scoff, but he did impress playing out wide in Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah’s absence last season.
Liverpool’s new system may also stand to benefit Oxlade-Chamberlain. Not quite a midfielder, not quite a forward, he could perhaps find the balance playing on the left of the Reds new-look midfield four. A new contract he may not get, but there’s still time for Ox to sign off from Anfield in style this season.
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