Arne Slot was handed a major fitness boost ahead of Liverpool’s Champions League last 16 second-leg tie against Paris Saint-Germain with Cody Gakpo available once again.
The attacker has struggled with an ankle injury over the last month that kept him out of the games against Wolves and Aston Villa. Gakpo then returned to the team for the wins over Manchester City and Newcastle, coming off the bench in both.
However, the Dutchman suffered a recurrence of the injury in training ahead of the first leg against PSG and had to sit out the game, along with Saturday’s victory at Anfield over Southampton.
So the sight of Gakpo training at Kirkby on Monday afternoon was a welcome relief ahead of the second leg against PSG. Slot confirmed in his pre-match press conference a few hours later that the former Feyenoord man will be in the squad for the match between what he described as two of Europe’s best sides.
Gakpo is unlikely to start, but his introduction off the bench could be an additional resource Slot could avail of as he hopes to guide Liverpool to a quarter-final against Aston Villa or Club Brugge.
That leaves Liverpool without just three players for the PSG clash. The most senior of those is Joe Gomez, who underwent surgery on a hamstring injury last month. He was spotted going through an individual recovery session on Monday at Liverpool’s training base, although it was unclear from the media vantage point what sort of work he was undertaking and how strenuous the activity was. But the sight of him building back up to fitness is another positive for Slot.
Conor Bradley on the ball/
Conor Bradley hasn't played in nearly a month due to injury (Image: Getty Images)
Conor Bradley is also missing for Liverpool. He picked up a muscular issue in the 2-2 draw at Villa Park on 19 February and has sat out the last four games as a result. Slot said he would be unavailable for a few weeks and there’s every chance he will return after the international break.
Finally, Tyler Morton is also injured for the Reds. The midfielder went under the knife last month to address a shoulder problem and he is not expected back soon.
As for PSG, it has no injury issues to contend with ahead of the second leg and Luis Enrqiue’s decision to make eight changes at the weekend is an indication of who will start for the Parisians in the second leg at Anfield.