Henderson raves about LFC fitness ahead of PL return: ‘fitter than before we went into lockdown’

Jurgen Klopp is going to have a fully fit squad to choose from going into the final nine games of the season – providing nobody gets injured when contact training is allowed…

The likes of Naby Keita, Alisson and Xherdan Shaqiri have used the enforced break due to the coronavirus to regain health, but there will be questions about how match-sharp everybody is as a result of the fact our last game was mid-March.

Captain Jordan Henderson though isn’t worried at all and has been incredibly impressed with the condition of his team-mates now everyone is back at Melwood.

“We have had programmes to follow, so some of us are probably fitter than before we went into lockdown. The lads have looked really good physically and I never really had a doubt that that would be an issue,” he told BBC Sport.

“When you go back, it is a bit different with the type of training, getting used to the ball again, longer passing and shooting and the sharpness of twisting and turning, the change of direction, you need to get used to it. After a few weeks of full training, we will be right back where we left off, hopefully.”

There is no official word on the return of the Premier League, yet – but it’s looking most likely to be towards the end of June – rather than the middle of it.

The Bundesliga’s resumption has been a roaring success though, which sets a great precedent for football to come back in England.

We have to hope the number of COVID-19 cases continues to drop, of course, as if we have a second wave before the PL is back the plans could be shelved once and for all.