Jordan Henderson Targets Europa League Final Return

Last week, Emre Can shocked Liverpool fans by making his return from an ankle injury three weeks ahead of schedule. Not only did he come back from what was meant to be a season-ending injury in half the expected time, but he went 90 minutes as one of Liverpool’s best players in a 3-0 victory over Villarreal.

Now, fellow midfielder Jordan Henderson says that he’s targeting a similarly miraculous comeback, as the Liverpool captain believes that he too can beat the odds and return to full fitness in time to face Sevilla in the Europa League final next Wednesday night. Henderson picked up a knee injury against Dortmund a month ago.

“That would be the priority for me,” said Henderson when asked by Sky Sports about his hopes to make it back before the end of the current season. “It would be huge to be involved and play a part in it if I could, but at the same time I’ve got to make sure that my knee is right because I don’t want to do any further damage to it.”

After having seemed one of Liverpool’s—and perhaps the league’s—most robust players in recent years, this past season hasn’t been a good one for Henderson on the injury front. In his first four seasons at Anfield, the midfielder averaged more than 46 games a year. This season, he’s made 25 appearances in all competitions.

Before 2015-16, Henderson had missed one Liverpool game through an ankle injury, and before moving to Liverpool from Sunderland, Henderson had missed a total of nine games as a senior player—also due to an ankle injury suffered back in 2009-10. This season, he’s missed 36 games with heel, foot, and knee injuries.

“I’m doing everything I can to try to get back as quickly as possible,” Henderson added. “I’ve had a good week so far, so hopefully I can have another and see where I am at the end of that. I’m being very positive and working hard, and hopefully it’s sooner rather than later.”