Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain Liverpool return date set after knee injury layoff

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David Lynch4 March 2019

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain is set to make his Liverpool return when the club’s U23s side take on Derby County on Friday.

It had been suggested that the 25-year-old could make his comeback when Neil Critchley’s team take on Everton in Premier League 2 this evening.

However, his return from an 11-month lay-off has now been delayed until later in the week, when the young Reds visit Derby.

Oxlade-Chamberlain has been out of action since damaging knee ligaments during the first leg of last season’s Champions League semi-final meeting with AS Roma.

The club’s medical staff initially expected the Englishman to miss the entirety of the 2018-19 campaign as a result of the surgery he was forced to undergo.

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However, having made good progress in his rehabilitation, Oxlade-Chamberlain is now targeting a return before the end of the campaign.

Jurgen Klopp recently expressed excitement over the prospect of his No.21’s impending return, which he described as ‘ahead of schedule’.

He said: "We are usually not that excited about something like this, a lot of things can happen after being out for a long time, but it looks positive and it's just nice to have him around with a smile on his face.

“He's obviously happy and we are very happy with the improvement.

"Of course he needs time. If you look at the little sessions he does outside it looks like he could play tomorrow but that's not possible, there's a long time to go.

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"It's a boost for the whole dressing room. It's a surprise, he's ahead of schedule. We won't push him too much, but we don't want to hold him back. We will see.

"If he makes further steps like he did in the last few weeks, he can play Premier League football this season."

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