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After another strong start to a season, towards the end of September Martin Kelly ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament and was ruled out for a minimum of six months. It was yet another setback in a young career that has seemed to see at least one major injury a season since Kelly broke through to the first team in 09-10.
When he went down, though, there was some thought he might be fit enough to play again before the end of the season, and there now appears a decent chance he will be fit—but won't play. Despite that he has now begun to work his way back to fitness, the manager intends to err on the side of caution and is aiming for a full return in time for pre-season.
"Martin has been working very hard and making good progress," Rodgers said. "He is in between the training group and the rehab group. But there is no point in rushing him back at this stage of the season. There are no thoughts for Martin to play between now and the end of the season.
"We just have to make sure we get him back fully fit and the objective was always to get him ready for pre-season. He's a player who did very well when he played at the start of the season. He has shown his talent and it will be a boost to have him back in the squad for next season."
It's a similar story when it comes to Raheem Sterling, with the young winger involved in light training as Rodgers sets out with the goal of "protecting him" in the hopes he will be back at his peak in time for the start of next season.
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