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Liverpool's 4-0 win over Dortmund earlier today was tremendous fun. Completely irrelevant as fair as the practical matters, but potentially a momentum-building performances with a number of sparkling individual displays. Philippe Coutinho was again superb, Dejan Lovren dominant, Javier Manquillo cool as you like in his first appearance, and a number of others doing plenty to impress. Attention wasn't solely on those that made the squad, though, with more than a few higher-profile squad members missing through injury, including Daniel Agger and Lazar Markovic.
Brendan Rodgers provided updates on both post-match--firs, regarding Markovic, and then on Agger's condition:
"He'll hopefully be around then [against Southampton], but if not then he certainly will for the next game. He had a slight problem with his tendon, but he's up to speed. He's working with our sports science team, he's looking very strong and if he just misses out, he certainly should be available for the next game.
"Dan is still getting some work done on his knee. He's been unfortunate since America, so he's still getting treatment."
Encouraging stuff about the former, and nothing entirely convincing on the latter. As was the case before we had anything from Rodgers, caution is the best way forward with Markovic, and if he's not ready for Southampton so be it. He's going to have his time this season and beyond, and there's zero sense in rushing him back. Liverpool will likely have Jordon Ibe around for at least the first few weeks of the season as well (or the entire season if he's not set for a loan), so support from the wide areas should be available in Markovic's stead.
With Agger everything still appears to be up in the air, especially in the wake of Dejan Lovren's excellent performance earlier in the day. We know Barcelona's out of the picture, but we're not yet done hearing questions about Agger's Liverpool future whether or not he's at full fitness.
