During his pre-match press conference ahead of Liverpool’s trip to Old Trafford on Monday, Jurgen Klopp had some positive news to share.
With Diogo Jota out injured and Darwin Núñez set for a spell out through suspension, it appears Roberto Firmino is set to ease Liverpool’s concerns up top.
Firmino missed out on the 1-1 draw against Crystal Palace last weekend due to a slight muscle issue.
Fans will no doubt have been concerned by this news due to the Brazilian’s poor injury record of late.
There have been numerous occasions where Firmino has been ruled out with a ‘slight’ problem which has then led to multiple games on the sidelines.
Fears will have been amplified by the red card shown to Darwin Núñez during the disappointing draw.
This left Klopp with no obvious striker to lead the line going into the next few weeks of fixtures.
Jota is expected back in training at the end of August so will be unavailable until early September in terms of playing games.
Immediate questions after the Crystal Palace games were in relation to the front three that will attempt to pick up three points at Old Trafford.
With Mohamed Salah expected to play through the middle should Firmino be absent, this would be far from ideal.
Further impacts would be on the midfield as Harvey Elliott, who was extremely impressive in the last game, would be forced out wide.
Klopp has eased any fears when asked about the injury situation and whether Firmino was back in training.
The German boss confirmed: “Bobby is back” and that he has “trained completely normal” in the past days.
It is now expected that the front three from the Fulham game will go into this fixture with a point to prove following that poor showing on the opening day.
While fans were intrigued to see Núñez come up against Manchester United’s struggling centre halves, Firmino will bring a different problem to think about.
Would you bring Roberto Firmino straight back into the side or would you look for more pace in behind the back line?
The Brazilian was linked with an exit this summer as he is now in the final year of his £180,000 per week contract.
But Klopp wants him to stay and he isn’t going anywhere.
Fabrizio Romano told CaughtOffside: “So far Juventus have not approached Liverpool for Roberto Firmino.
“The situation is totally quiet – Jurgen Klopp considers him part of the project, especially because a lot of resources are needed in the World Cup season.”
