Mario Balotelli Trains During Off Day in Bid to Up Fitness Levels

While the rest of the Liverpool squad took a well deserved day off following the 3-1 defeat to reigning Premier League champions Manchester City on Monday, new signing Mario Balotelli reportedly trained alone in an attempt to get his fitness levels back up to the appropriate levels.

Although he participated in a good portion of AC Milan’s pre-season matches — including a meeting with his new side in the Guinness International Champions Cup — apparently the striker isn’t quite up to Reds boss Brendan Rodgers high expectations. The Northern Irishman has hinted heavily that his newest charge could still be handed a debut when his side face off against Tottenham Hotspur this coming Sunday, but he also said that the Italian still has some work to do.

“We’ve done some analysis on him. The medical and sports science team have worked with him already and he’s in very, very good condition” said the Liverpool boss when asked if Balotetlli will be in contention for a spot in the starting eleven against Spurs. “He’s in to work and he’ll be available for the squad for the weekend.”

The Italian, who took claimed his favoured Number 45 shirt upon signing for the Anfield out, reportedly did some running and worked on ball skills with the Liverpool coaching staff at Melwood while the rest of the team enjoyed a day off. Many pundits have tipped the 24-year old to be a massive risk for the Reds, but if he keeps his head down and keeps working like this, he could very well end up being the signing of the summer.