Liverpool manager Arne Slot has announced that Diogo Jota and Federico Chiesa should both return to the matchday squad for Saturday's Premier League clash with Fulham.
Following Alisson Becker's comeback in the 1-0 Champions League win over Girona in midweek, Jota (abdominal) and Chiesa (fitness/illness) were expected to be the next off the conveyor belt.
Jota has missed Liverpool's last 11 matches owing to the abdominal problem he sustained against Chelsea in October, but he was back in full training before Liverpool's trip to Girona, which came a little too soon for him.
Meanwhile, Chiesa has played for the Under-21s this month after recovering from long-term fitness problems, but the Italian was also unavailable for the Reds' last European triumph due to illness.
However, Slot confirmed to journalists in Friday's pre-game press conference that Jota and Chiesa are both on track to play this weekend, saying: "I think they are [available].
Could Mohamed Salah be rested when Chiesa returns?
© Imago
"We have one training session to go. Federico missed quite a lot for a long time, was ill last week, so we have to wait and see how he is exactly doing. But maybe Diogo is in the squad and maybe Federico as well, but that depends a bit on the numbers we have and also how he recovered from his illness."
Chiesa's imminent return could mean a long-awaited rest for Mohamed Salah, who has started all of Liverpool's Premier League and Champions League matches this season, only being cut from the first XI in the EFL Cup.
Salah is showing no signs of fatigue amid his scintillating run of form, though, and Slot has suggested that the EFL Cup quarter-final with Southampton next week could be a more realistic date for Chiesa to make his first senior appearance since September 25.
Asked about his plan to re-integrate Chiesa, Slot replied: "What makes it difficult is that we play so many games. What he needs is playing time and the problem is if you haven't played for five or six months it is sometimes difficult for a manager to give him his first minutes, because you don't exactly know what you can expect.
"Yes, I see him on the training ground, but ideally you see him in a friendly during the week or you see him in an Under-21 game or something like this – but that is not the situation we have, we play so many games.
© Imago
"Maybe the Southampton game might be a good moment for him to get some playing minutes and then we know a bit better what we can expect from him. Of course we see his qualities, we know his qualities but he needs to get this fitness level.
"If you only have training sessions, that is not the same as playing time. You need to have playing time to reach certain fitness levels. But if you are competing for the league and competing in the Champions League it's not always easy to find these minutes, unless we are sometimes 4-0 or 5-0 up.
"But for the whole season I think it was only once, against Bournemouth at home 3-0 up at half-time, for the rest it's been a struggle or a fight until the last second of every game."
Which Liverpool players will miss Fulham clash?
While Jota and Chiesa are in contention to play this weekend, defensive trio Conor Bradley (hamstring), Kostas Tsimikas (ankle) and Ibrahima Konate (knee) are still in the treatment room.
In addition, the Reds cannot call upon Alexis Mac Allister, whose one-game domestic suspension carries over to this weekend following the weather-enforced postponement of last Saturday's Merseyside derby.
Liverpool sit four points clear of second-placed Chelsea at the top of the Premier League table with a game in hand on the Blues.
Ben Knapton
