Klopp Gives Injury Updates on Lovren, Sturridge, Clyne

Ahead of Liverpool's fourth round FA Cup clash with West Ham on Saturday, Jürgen Klopp has given the obligatory update on the team's various injury-ridden players.

It looks like good news for Dejan Lovren after being out for the better part of a month with a hamstring problem. The defender, who made the bench in the league cup semi-final against Stoke mid-week, should be ready to start on Saturday. Meanwhile, Steven Caulker, who has been ineligible to play many of Liverpool's recent cup games due to certain technicalities, can indeed be called on for this fixture if Klopp deems him necessary to the team. It looks like this weekend will still be too early for Nathaniel Clyne and Philippe Coutinho, but both players are progressing well, according to the manager.

"Dejan, it's good news. Dejan was on the bench against Stoke and is now back," the boss told reporters at Melwood.

"Steve Caulker is not injured but he couldn't play the last game and now he's available for the FA Cup. He's like a new player.

"[Coutinho] is close to returning to training but he's not in the team training [yet]. He [will finish] his last two-three sessions with rehab and then he will be back on the pitch with us.

"[Skrtel?] no. Nathaniel, possibly, but we are not sure. He is much better, it was knee against knee and that's really painful. There's no doubt about the [durability] of Clyney. I asked him, 'One is no pain, ten is big, big pain - where are we?' and he said seven!

"Maybe you should have a rest, then. But now it's three, two, one, hopefully zero and we will see. He will train today and we will know more about this."

Coutinho's rehabilitation, in particular, will please Liverpool fans who have missed the impressive midfielder over these last weeks that he's been out. With fellow Brazilian Roberto Firmino hitting a good run of form, Klopp will be eager to see Coutinho back on the pitch to provide him the service to really shine.

Captain Jordan Henderson and injury-prone star striker Daniel Sturridge are two players that have been struggling with persistent fitness problems this season. About them, Klopp said:

"Hendo can be an option. He did really well for the team in a difficult time with a long-term injury, still having problems, only pain but it's always pain.

"We now are on a really good way but we need to use these two days and hopefully he has recovered after an intensive time and is back in the race."

"No news [on Sturridge]. There's not really something to tell you, to be honest," he continued.

"He's still working; sometimes it's better and sometimes it's a bit worse because of one or the other issues. He did a lot of sessions in the last few weeks but it's always interrupted through a few breaks. He needs consistency in sessions and that's what we try to do.

"That's normal [when you have] injury history. It's not coincidence, some things are not right if you are injured that often. We have to be really sensitive with all the information we get and that's what we try to do.

"We [try to] find a point from which we can really train and build up fitness. He could do a lot of sessions in the last few weeks but, how I said, always interrupted through a few different issues where we always have to wait for what will happen. That's how it is.

"There's no doubt that he's a very, very good player, how everybody knows. But in this moment - and that's how I understand it - he is not available so we don't have to talk too much about him because he is not here.

"He cannot play tomorrow and for sure not against Leicester and I don't know what happens after this to be honest."

So it seems Henderson might be available at the weekend, though if Klopp chooses to play him remains to be seen. Chances are that he may be rested for when Liverpool take on the league leaders, Leicester City, next.

Sturridge is touch-and-go, just as he has been for the last few weeks. Klopp, understandably, seems reluctant to give a timeline on his progress, thanks to the numerous setbacks that the player has been hit with this season. Though he's been greatly missed, no one is in any rush to get him back. Better that he is fully fit -- or whatever that translates to when it comes to Daniel Sturridge -- than to risk him for a one-off game only to be followed by another couple months on the sidelines.

It would have been hard to believe in October that by the end of January, Liverpool would still be competing in four competitions. They have the opportunity to continue their good run against West Ham, but the last two poor games against that team this season means that it will be a difficult task. Hopefully whoever Klopp has available to him will be up to the task on Saturday.