Is Harvey Elliott another Liverpool injury victim? Teenage midfielder delivers fitness update

• Taken off during friendly with Lyon
• Decision was purely precautionary
• Ready to go ahead of Premier League return

WHAT HAPPENED? Untimely physical setbacks have become an unfortunate theme for the Reds in the 2022-23 campaign, with key frontmen Diogo Jota and Luis Diaz among those currently ruled out. There were fears that Elliott was heading to the treatment table when he was forced off during a friendly outing against Lyon, but the England Under-21 international insists he was merely being handled with care and will be ready for a meeting with AC Milan on Friday and a return to competitive action against Manchester City in the Carabao Cup fourth round on December 22.

WHAT THEY SAID: Elliott has told Liverpool’s official website of being replaced against Lyon and why his general fitness should not be a concern: “People who know me, it's one of them – I don't ever want to come off in a football match. It's the game I love and a game I want to play for the rest of my life. But sometimes you just need to have that mature head on and think [about] the bigger picture. That's what I was doing, that's obviously what the coaching staff were doing as well. I had a little knock on my surgery and it was frightening, to be honest, because it was the first time I ever had a kind of knock like that where I didn't feel OK. But yeah, it was just a precaution. Luckily I'm all well and good and have been back training in the last couple of days now and preparing for the game.”

THE BIGGER PICTURE: Elliott suffered a serious ankle injury during the Premier League meeting with Leeds in September 2021, with a painful dislocation requiring surgery before sitting out five months of action.

IN A PHOTO:

Elliott is enjoying a breakout season...

WHAT NEXT? Liverpool are now readying themselves for a return to domestic competition after the World Cup break, with the side sat sixth in the Premier League table set to take in a trip to Aston Villa on Boxing Day as more precious top-flight points come up for grabs.