Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain Ready to Take “the Next Step”

After spending a year on the sidelines, it’s been a slow road back to fitness for Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, and now the midfielder says he’s looking to take the next and final step as the fixtures start to pile up for Liverpool.

“I feel like I can really perform at a good level at the minute,” the 26-year-old midfielder told Premier League Productions ahead of Saturday’s game against Newcastle. “The one thing I haven’t done is string matches together.

“I haven’t had that chance yet so that’s the next step for me, to play and recover and be able to play and play again all in the same week and keep going from strength to strength. I feel like I’m in a position to do that.”

So far, there have been moments—passages of play, halves, games—of promise for Oxlade-Chamberlain since his return, but there have also been times he has struggled, where just how long he was out injured has been clear.

After a full pre-season, though, and now a month of competitive football with his club and national team, he says he’s ready—to play and to keep going as the matches pile up, the games coming two and three a week.

“I feel strong” he added. “I’ve been training since the back end of last season and playing so I’m not short of those technical things you get with playing a lot. So it’ll be more the physical: being able to play and keep playing.

“To play at the level is one thing, but to churn three of them a week at this level is what the body has to get used to. That’s the next thing, but where I’m at right now I feel confident to be able to get out there and do what I do.”