Liverpool Injury Update: Leiva, Sakho + Enrique

Liverpool play Fulham at Craven Cottage on Wednesday night looking to cement their place in the top four.

We brought you an update earlier today from boss Brendan Rodgers, who confirmed that Daniel Agger and Glen Johnson returned to full training this week and could be back in contention to face Fulham tomorrow.

There has been a further update this evening from Liverpool head of performance, Glen Driscoll, who has given Liverpoolfc.com the latest on the fitness of Lucas Leiva, Jose Enrique and Mamadou Sakho.

Sakho was forced off against Chelsea back in December with a hamstring injury and was initially only expected to miss three weeks. However, Driscoll has confirmed the problem was actually far worse than first feared, which has explained why the Frenchman is still working hard on his rehabilitation over seven weeks later.

Leiva was ruled out for up to three months with a serious knee injury last month but the Brazilian is already outside running just three weeks later and is well ahead in his recovery program, and getting the midfielder back sooner than expected will be a major boost for Brendan Rodgers.

The third long-term injury victim is left-back Enrique who has already been out for over 8 weeks with a serious knee injury but it appears he’s in the final stages of his recovery before getting back on the training pitch.

Driscoll told Liverpoolfc.com:

“Mamadou Sakho actually had a tear in his tendon and not the muscle of the hamstring as initially reported. For a whole host of reasons tendons take longer to heal, but he is working hard and progressing.

“Lucas Leiva was due to be in a brace for six weeks, according to specialists’ opinion, but yesterday he was outside running just over three weeks in, which is fantastic and shows just how ahead of schedule he is.

“Jose Enrique also had a complex knee issue and following surgery is in the process of achieving his final strength gains before he can return to training.”

“Without providing specific dates I would hope that by the end of the month we should start to get the likes of Jose, Lucas and Sakho back.”

Liverpool have the opportunity to cement their place in the top four with a win at Craven Cottage on Wednesday and the Merseysiders can also close in at the top of the table with leaders Chelsea being held to a 1-1 draw at West Brom on Tuesday night.