Liverpool Fullback Andy Robertson Returns to Training

A week before the season kicked off, Liverpool left back Andy Robertson suffered a nasty looking ankle injury during their pre-season friendly against Athletic Bilbao, leading to concerns the Scottish star could be set for an extended spell on the sidelines.

A serious, grade three injury to his ankle ligaments, which it certainly appeared at the time, could have seen Robertson out of action until the new year. A grade two injury could have seen him out until mid-autumn. A grade one injury would see a recovery time measured in weeks.

Fortunately, scans returned a positive result: his layoff would be measured in weeks instead of months. And today, just nine days after the injury, Robertson shared pictures of him back in solo training.

By any reasonable best case standard, getting back to running just a little over a week puts Robertson ahead of schedule—though it should be noted that straight-line running on his own is still a long way off from being able to put lateral strain on his ankle and being match fit.

As such, even a bench role this weekend seems exceptionally unlikely. However, being ahead of schedule could mean that there’s an outside chance Robertson will be ready for the bench by the time Chelsea rolls around on August 28th.

With that match immediately followed by an international break, though, the prudent course might still be to target a return in September, with Liverpool’s first game of the new month against Leeds United on the 12th.