Jurgen Klopp and his Liverpool stars jet off to Germany for pre-season clash with RB Leipzig and Austrian training camp… but leave injured Diogo Jota and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain at home as duo battle to be fit for the start of the season
- Diogo Jota and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain have missed Liverpool’s Germany tour
- The pair have picked up injuries on the club’s previous pre-season tour of Asia
- Jurgen Klopp admits Jota is unlikely to be fit for next Sunday’s Community Shield
- Alisson and Joe Gomez have passed last-minute fitness tests to make the squad
Liverpool flew out to Germany for their penultimate pre-season trip on Thursday, but there was no sign of injured duo Diogo Jota and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain ahead of matches against RB Leipzig and Red Bull Salzburg.
The likes of Mohammed Salah and Virgil van Dijk were spotted boarding the club’s private jet to Germany ahead of Thursday night’s game against Leipzig.
Last season’s Premier League runners up will then go on to an Austrian training camp, which will conclude with a friendly against Salzburg on July 27th.
Kostas Tsimikas, Mohammed Salah and Adrian boarded Liverpool’s flight out to Germany
But there was no sign of injured duo Diogo Jota and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain boarding it
However, two noticeable absentees were Jota and Oxlade-Chamberlain. Both picked up injuries on the club’s recent tour of Asia and this setback will come as a huge blow, with the pair missing out on the opportunity to step up preparations for the new Premier League season, which begins in just over two weeks.
Jota was forced to sit out the Reds’ 2-0 win against Crystal Palace in Singapore last week with Jurgen Klopp explaining how a previous hamstring problem flared up again in a training session. He admitted that it’s unlikely he will recover in time to feature in the Community Shield against Manchester City next Saturday.
Oxlade-Chamberlain was forced off in that Palace match, also going to ground with a hamstring issue just before half time. It comes as the latest in a long line of injury troubles for the midfielder, much to the frustration of himself and his manager.
Virgin van Dijk was all smiles getting on Liverpool’s flight to face RB Leipzig on Thursday night
Jurgen Klopp admitted Diogo Jota faces an uphill struggle to be fit in time for the new season
‘It’s very disappointing for us because [Oxlade-Chamberlain] trained all the time really well since pre-season started,’ said Klopp.
‘He is obviously a top-class player and he can help us.’
Since suffering an ACL rupture in their 2018 Champions semi-final against Roma, ‘the Ox’ has missed a total of 75 matches for Liverpool through injury.
His last spell on the sidelines was more than 18 months ago, but his recurring absence has resulted in him slowly falling down the pecking order in Klopp’s squad and only featuring 17 times in the league last season.
The 28-year-old had recently been linked with a move to West Ham in search of more playing time, and a move may not be dead in the water as this latest problem is not expected to keep him out for long.
‘This is just a muscle thing and that’s OK,’ added Klopp. ‘I don’t know exactly how long it will take, but he will be back and then it’s all fine.’
More positively, defender Joe Gomez will travel, while Klopp also expects goalkeeper Alisson to be match fit after nursing an abdominal issue in recent weeks.
Joe Gomez managed to overcome injury to book his spot on the plane
James Milner (left) and Trent Alexander-Arnold chat ahead of tonight’s match with RB Leipzig
‘With Ali, it’s nothing serious but we’re preparing for the whole season. It’s just not ideal,’ said the German.
‘He can’t do goalie training with it and shouldn’t play in this moment, but he can still do some other things. These things happen. Only a little thing but we have to be careful.’
Looking ahead to the Community Shield, Klopp is confident that his first-choice keeper will be in-between the sticks.
‘I think Ali has the chance for City but not Diogo.’
