Liverpool have reportedly received a boost over the fitness of injured winger Luis Diaz.
The Colombia international sustained a knee injury during the defeat at Arsenal earlier this month, an issue which subsequently ruled him out of the World Cup.
The initial prognosis was that Diaz would be sidelined for a number of months, making it unclear whether he would be in a position to return to action when Premier League action resumed on Boxing Day.
However, according to Football Insider, the 25-year-old is making encouraging progress in the treatment room.
Rather than not being ready to feature during the Christmas period, the report suggests that Diaz may have spent a number of weeks on the training pitch before that run of games.
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Liverpool are due to travel to Dubai for a training camp while the World Cup is taking place in Qatar, and the current expectation is that Diaz will participate in that trip.
The alleged development will come as a boost to Jurgen Klopp at a time when the German has also been without fellow playmaker Diogo Jota.
Saturday's surprise 2-1 defeat at the hands of Leeds United led to Klopp acknowledging that Liverpool were currently only outsiders to earn a top-four spot in the Premier League table come the end of the season.
Furthermore, Klopp stated that he had also been required to over-play some squad members, telling reporters: "There is no excuse for it or whatever but we have the problem from the first day with injuries or half-fit players who are not injured.
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"So that's what we carry with us in the moment and that's why some players play too often and other players have to play too early."
Before his injury, Diaz had provided four goals and two assists from his opening 12 outings of the season, just one of those contributions coming in the Champions League.
Although Liverpool have kept themselves in contention to progress to the knockout stages as group winners, they must beat Napoli by a four-goal margin on Tuesday night.
Should they fail to do so, the Merseyside giants will play the first leg of their last 16 tie at Anfield against a seeded team.
Darren Plant
