Klopp on Ings: "It’s Time to Work on the Comeback"

The two knee injuries suffered by Danny Ings in successive seasons at Liverpool aren't his first encounters with such serious setbacks. The 24-year-old striker suffered two knee injuries in two seasons at Burnley that each kept him out for six months. For those keeping track, four knee injuries have robbed Ings of 12 months at Burnley and the best part of two seasons at Liverpool.

This is a tough time for a striker who has been completely dedicated, professional, and hungry since Liverpool signed him in 2015's summer transfer window. The reality of repeated injuries of this nature is extremely worrying, but the first step to recovery has been completed after Jürgen Klopp confirmed that surgery on the Ings' knee was successful.

"It’s not negative; it’s not a nice story of course, it’s the complete opposite, but it’s an important story," Klopp said. "Everybody who knows Ingsy likes him, I’ve never heard something bad about him. The only problem he had is that he had a really bad injury and he needed time to come back in shape.

"In the last two weeks everybody could see, ‘OK, now he’s back’ and then this happened. It’s not nice, but it is part of football and from yesterday onwards, it is already a positive story because the surgery was very positive and the rehab has started already.

"It's a moment when the club and the team really has to show how strong we are and we will wait for him. We will give him all the time he needs and then he will be back again and will be a Liverpool player, 100 per cent."

All Klopp can do is support and encourage his player ahead of a long journey to recovery. What will be even more frustrating for Ings was that, judging by Klopp's comments, he was close to regaining his sharpness to be considered for a spot in the matchday squad. Whether it was a matter of weeks or waiting until the festive fixtures arrived is unknown, but Ings will have to find resilience and belief to recover.

"He was very, very close in the last few weeks to the team; he’d already helped us and in each session he helped us on his way back into his best shape," Klopp confirmed. "Everything will be good at the end but now it’s time to work on the comeback."