Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp is confident about striker Roberto Firmino’s recovery to full fitness for the Sunday’s titanic clash against Manchester City.
Klopp has hinted at the possibility of the Roberto being involved in the game against Manchester City as the boss claims that the player would be declared fully fit if he ends up training with the team on Saturday.
The Brazilian sat out last weekend’s 2-1 victory over Burnley at Anfield – only the second game he has missed in the league throughout the whole season.
However, according to Klopp, a week’s worth of light training would not prevent Firmino from featuring at the Etihad Stadium – where he opened his Reds account last term. Speaking to the media, ahead of the match, Klopp said:
“Roberto will be well recovered. He’s training already. He’s trained the whole week, but to involve him in team training made no sense so far. If he can be involved in team training on Saturday then physical-wise he has no issues because it’s good for him.
“He has played nearly the whole season so far, so if he has one week with more treatment than training and another week with light training for him, then yes, he would be completely OK.”
Firmino’s involvement will be crucial for Liverpool as the Brazilian’s presence on the field brings provides the Reds with an impetus going forward. Though he has not been in the best of form, Roberto will be important in Liverpool’s build-up play and he will be tasked with the job of combining with fellow Brazilian Philippe Coutinho and Sadio Mane to wreak havoc in the attacking-third.
The game against Manchester City is extremely important as it could have huge ramifications on the team’s top-4 fate. City are currently placed 3rd and are hoping to overtake Tottenham, who are 2nd in the table.
However, it will not be easy for the Citizens as the Reds are coming into the game with victories over Arsenal and Burnley in recent weeks.
It will be a cracker and if Firmino manages to start for Liverpool. And it would certainly not please former Everton man John Stones.
Watch the entire pre-match press conference here.
