After picking up a foot injury in training that has seen him miss four games on the hop, Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson looks set to return to the squad in some capacity when cross-town rivals Everton visit Anfield this weekend.
Having been ruled out of England’s friendly with Germany and World Cup qualifier with Lithuania, the skipper was on hand to take in some warm weather training in Tenerife with the rest of the squad, but he didn’t hit the pitch at all as Reds boss Jurgen Klopp tries to ensure that he’s in tip-top shape for run in to the end of the season. Although they have what looks to be a relatively easy close to the campaign, they can’t afford any hiccups in the race for Champions League football next season with both Manchester United and Arsenal hot on their heels and each holding two matches in hand.
Couple that with the fact that the Toffee’s could cut the gap to the top four to a mere 3-points should they bag a win on Saturday and it comes as little surprise that Henderson is set to take on an increased workload to get ready for the match. While the Reds go into the the meeting unbeaten in their last three outings, they’ve missed the calming influence the captain has in the middle of the park as well as his passing in the final third.
With that being said, after an indifferent start to the campaign and injury problems of his own, Emre Can has started to come in to his own and has impressed in the deep-lying midfield role that the skipper has made his own. Considering the fact that Henderson faces a race to be fit in time, there’s a good possibility that any role he does end up playing will be from the bench. Klopp will have a choice to make come Saturday, but choosing between an in form player and a captain that’ll be hungry to win his role back is exactly the kind of “problem” every manager is hoping to have.
