Thiago Alcantara will not return to training with Liverpool until next month, assistant coach Pep Lijnders has confirmed.The midfielder has not played for the Reds this season. He had surgery on his hip last April, but the problem still bothered him.
Thiago, whose contract expired at the end of the season, returned to training several times but did not recover. He will not be able to link up with the rest of Jurgen Klopp’s squad until February, with midfielder Stefan Vaicetic missing two games in the 2023/24 campaign through illness.
The best news is that Andy Robertson could be back in full training before the end of the month. He has been sidelined on the left side of his back since shoulder surgery last October. Kostas Tsmikas is also expected to return in time, making rapid progress after breaking a bone in the 1-1 draw with Arsenal on 23 December.
Lijnders said this ahead of Liverpool’s Carabao Cup semi-final first leg against Fulham.“After he’s had the scan and seen everything that’s going to help him develop, he’ll go to Dubai for a week and do the right sound sessions, the right sessions. This will help him. We’ll then look at the three-month scans to see how quickly the contact picks up. “The same goes for Kostas.
Kostas is very good and is improving very fast. Hopefully Robbo and Kostas will be able to train with the team again later this month. “They (Thiago and Vaiketic) will not be ready until the end of this month. They will probably train with us next month. “But both are progressing [without complications].”
Dominic Szoboszlai (knee) will miss the game against Fulham but Virgil van Dijk has returned to training after missing the 2-0 FA Cup win against Arsenal through illness.
