Jurgen Klopp boosted as Liverpool star ready to face Man City after five-month injury hell
Jurgen Klopp is set to be boosted by the return of winger Luis Diaz for Saturday's heavyweight Premier League clash with Manchester City.
The Colombian has been out with a knee injury since October last year, sustained in the 3-2 defeat to Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium, though he has been in light training since February.
Liverpool have opted to be patient with Diaz after he suffered a setback earlier in his recovery, but he's now in line to return to action after stepping up his efforts in training.
Diaz's return is another welcome boost for manager Klopp, who has been decimated at times by injury as his side have struggled for consistency.
Diogo Jota and Roberto Firmino have also missed considerable parts of the season because of muscle issues, with Diaz's injury at one time leaving Mohamed Salah and Darwin Nunez as Liverpool's only senior options up front.
The Reds dipped into the transfer market in January to address the problem, signing Cody Gakpo from PSV Eindhoven, and now have an abundance of options available as they push for a top-four finish and qualification for next season's Champions League.
In Diaz's absence, results have been up and down for Liverpool, and they currently sit seven points behind Tottenham who occupy fourth place, although they do have two games in hand. Newcastle, however, are a place and five points above Liverpool after playing the same amount of games.
Diaz has played just eight Premier League games this season, scoring three goals, having joined the club from Porto in January 2022 for a reported fee of £37.5m.
READ NEXT
manual
Will Luis Diaz start for Liverpool against Man City?
It's unlikely that Diaz will come straight back into Klopp's starting lineup because of a lack of match practice, but his explosive pace and direct running could be a huge threat in the second half if Liverpool are trying to get back into the game against City.
Darwin Nunez could also be available for Klopp despite pulling out Uruguay national team duty because of a leg injury, meaning every one of the club's six forwards could be in the squad - a huge boost heading into the business end of the season.
LISTEN NOW
On this edition of Talking Transfers, part of the 90min podcast network, Scott Saunders, Graeme Bailey & Toby Cudworth discuss Julian Nagelsmann's future and links to the vacant Tottenham head coach role, Barcelona's ambition to bring Lionel Messi 'home', Brighton teenager Evan Ferguson, Florian Wirtz, Kalvin Phillips and more!
If you can't see this embed, click here to listen to the podcast!