Joël Matip Returns to Training Ahead of Arsenal Match

With Adam Lallana making his second appearance following his return from injury against Bournemouth, news on the injury front is mostly good for Liverpool and manager Jürgen Klopp as he prepares for the final game of the first half of the league season and a busy start to the new year.

There’s good news for the manager in defence, too, with Joël Matip healthy again and back in training—though it isn’t expected that the centre half will be ready to face Arsenal on Friday, and Klopp knows that he will likely be without Daniel Sturridge and certainly without Alberto Moreno.

“Daniel [Sturridge] is a little bit ill, but he could be back soon even and Joël Matip is positive,” Klopp said at his pre-match press conference this afternoon. “I’m not sure he will be ready for Arsenal, but for the games coming up I’m pretty sure. He was back in training yesterday.”

While Klopp wouldn’t commit to saying for certain whether or not Sutturidge or Matip would be ready to face Arsenal, he did confirm that Lallana would be in the squad—though he cautioned the player still isn’t fully up to match fitness and wouldn’t be ready for “three games of 90 minutes.”

As for Moreno, the timeline for the left back remains uncertain, but Klopp said that the revitalized Spaniard would need at least “a few weeks” before he’s back in training, with Andy Robertson continuing as first choice in his absence.