Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has claimed attacker Luis Diaz is naturally lacking match sharpness after spending six months out with injury.
Speaking during his post-match press conference after the Reds dismantled Leeds United 6-1 last night, the German spoke of the 26-year-old’s return to the squad, after he made a nine-minute cameo off the bench.
“Yeah, super-important, so Luis is back,” said Klopp.
“He’s now lacking rhythm, which is normal, [and] a bit of sharpness, but that’s normal as well.
“In training sessions, you cannot get there to the final degree of sharpness, so we now try to just help him [get there] step by step back really into the team [and] give him minutes.
“It’s just nice to see him play, to be honest. We missed him so long, so it’s just nice to see him being involved again.”
Klopp happy with Diaz’s return
Before he sustained his injury, Diaz was probably Liverpool’s best player this season (aside from Alisson Becker).
When the Reds looked extremely poor going forward, the Colombia international was the one to drag the team out of their rut.
Therefore, his injury came as a huge blow to Klopp.
However, with the return of Darwin Nunez and Diogo Jota from injury, as well as the arrival of Cody Gakpo in January, the manager now has many more options up top.
As such, Diaz – who arrived at Liverpool for an initial £37m – now faces competition for his place in the starting XI.
While he may not secure it before the end of the season, it will be interesting to see who starts the next campaign on the left wing.
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