Pepijn Lijnders Gives Fitness Updates on Young Liverpool Players Ahead of Bournemouth Clash
Liverpool assistant manager Pepijn Lijnders gave fitness updates for a number of his young players as he previewed Wednesday night’s fourth-round League Cup clash away to Bournemouth.
There was good and bad news from the assistant manager in his press conference on Tuesday afternoon, with Ben Doak revealed to have made a return to training following his muscle problem.
Lijnders was hesitant with regard to the teenager’s availability for Bournemouth, but did concede that it was “really good” to have him back among the squad.
“Ben Doak trained yesterday [for the] first time,” said Jurgen Klopp‘s No. 2 in the pre-Bournemouth press conference. “[He is] full of energy, a big heart, always wanting to go. Good to see that, really good to see him back. He trained yesterday, let’s see [if he will make the squad]. He trained yesterday for the first time, not full.”
Lijnders was less positive about the fitness of Stefan Bajcetic, who has played just 73 minutes since sustaining an adductor injury in March and has since suffered further setbacks. He continued: “And with Stefan, he’s not available at the moment and we’re working with the medical team to discuss how we introduce him over the coming period.”
Conor Bradley is yet to feature for the Reds this season having arrived back from his loan spell at Bolton in the summer. The right-back picked up a back injury during pre-season having served as Trent Alexander-Arnold‘s understudy in the first two friendlies. Liverpool’s assistant boss added that Bradley is “close” to making his return to training, following comments from Northern Ireland manager Michael O’Neill earlier this month that the youngster is “touch and go” for the November internationals.
“Conor is not in team training but he is getting really close, he is with the ball, he is doing all these things with [Andreas] Schlumberger and that looks promising,” said Lijnders. “It will be great to have him back because we know that he can be a really attacking threat on our right side.”
With Ben Doak returning to training and Conor Bradley close to making his return, Liverpool fans will be hoping that these young players can make an impact for the Reds in the near future. While Stefan Bajcetic is still some way off from making his return, it is encouraging to see that Liverpool are taking a cautious approach with his recovery and are working closely with the medical team to ensure that he returns to full fitness as soon as possible.