It’s been a long wait, but Liverpool can at last see a familiar face back on the training pitch. Colombian winger Luis Diaz, who’s been out of action for five months, has returned to training. The speedy winger damaged his knee ligaments in the 3-2 loss to Arsenal in October, but it was only the start of his woes. He returned during the training camp in Dubai in December, but Luis got injured again and required surgery to fix his troublesome knee. And now, after a dark period of waiting, doubting and fear – the former Porto forward is back.Head coach Jurgen Klopp has been anxious to get the 26-year-old back and has been following his progress for the past month. Klopp decided not to hurry anything. However, Diaz passed a test last week when he joined in sessions with Liverpool’s youth team and, given there have been no adverse reactions, he will be able to step up and join the first team.Just a friendly reminder that Luis Diaz will be back in action soon. 😁pic.twitter.com/dlWHj2a2tW— The Anfield Buzz (@TheAnfieldBuzz) March 27, 2023 No fixed return date has been named for when Diaz will be back available for Liverpool. Given Liverpool’s hope that he will return to full training before the end of the international break, there is a chance that he could play a part against Manchester City on Saturday, 1 April. Still, it would likely be from the substitutes bench at best.##NAJAVA_MECA_7134619##For that to happen, Diaz must participate in a couple of full-intensity sessions. Klopp likes to have his players feature in two sessions before being available for Liverpool’s next match.”It’s a different situation to last season. Luis came here having played all the games for Porto, and now he’s out with an injury for the second time. I can tell you the two sessions he had with us in Dubai, we were thrilled. But then he was injured again. When he is back, he will be really good and very impactful. That is clear. How quickly, I don’t know. We have to see. That’s the big challenge in these moments. There’s no time for patience, but you have to be patient. I’m positive about him that there’s a good chance to have a real impact in 10, 11, 12 games maybe.”Luis Diaz spent last week training with the clubs academy players & there is a chance he will be part of the squad to face Man City. He is expected to return to full training over the next few days. (@_ChrisBascombe) pic.twitter.com/onL3AZr2Da— LiverpoolGoals (@Liverpoolgoals_) March 28, 2023 Since arriving to Anfield, Diaz has made a total of 21 Premier League appearances, in which he scored seven goals and made five assists.
