Latest Liverpool news: Joe Gomez set for return to first-team says Chris Bascombe

Journalist Chris Bascombe reports that Liverpool defender Joe Gomez is set to return to the first-team and could be in the squad that faces Southampton.

The 21-year-old had suffered a fracture to his lower leg against Burnley in December and has been out since then.

The youngster was set to return in early February but his recovery wasn’t going well, and it was decided to take up surgery to speed up the healing

Gomez made a fantastic start to the season with Virgil van Dijk in the heart of the defence. The pair were excellent as Liverpool have the best defensive record in this campaign so far.

The Reds have conceded just 19 goals in the league prior to their meeting with Southampton.

Bascombe wrote for the Telegraph suggesting that Gomez might take time to get back to partnering Van Dijk:

“The average age of Liverpool’s current back four is just under 25. It will drop further when 21-year-old Joe Gomez, fit to return to the squad at Southampton on Friday, is considered ready to resume his partnership with Virgil Van Dijk.“

Matip doing an excellent job

Although Gomez was excellent before his injury, Joel Matip has done a wonderful job alongside the Dutch defender.

The former Schalke centre-back is possibly playing his best football since arriving on a free and it would not make sense to change the back-line at the moment.

The English defender should be eased into the team and hopefully, we can see him get a few minutes in our Champions League quarter-finals against Porto.

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Andy Robertson is suspended for the first leg, and it will be interesting to see how Jurgen Klopp decides to field his defence on Tuesday.