Liverpool Team News: Rodgers Confirms Triple Injury Boost Ahead Of Man Utd Trip

Liverpool take on Manchester United at Old Trafford on Sunday afternoon and Brendan Rodgers has given Liverpoolfc.com a positive team news and injury update ahead of the game.

The Reds boss confirmed that Mario Balotelli is back in full training with the rest of the first team squad and will be handed a late fitness test to see if he’s ready to be in contention for Sunday.

Balotelli has been on the sidelines for over a month since suffering a groin injury while away with the Italian national team last month but his imminent return to action will ease the pressure on Rickie Lambert, with the 32-year-old having to lead the line in recent weeks with Daniel Sturridge also on the sidelines.

Brendan Rodgers told reporters in his press conference this afternoon:

“He’s [Balotelli] only just back into training, so it’s something we’ll assess.

“We’ve still got a bit of time, so we’ll see what his fitness is like.

“He’s been out for a little while now, but in the last couple of days he’s looked good in training.

“We’ll give him every chance to see if he can come into the squad.”

There was more positive injury news with Rodgers telling the clubs website that Kolo Toure will be available this weekend after missing the midweek draw with FC Basel due to a minor groin strain.

Toure will now compete for a place alongside Martin Skrtel at the heart of defence having previously displaced Dejan Lovren before picking up the groin knock earlier this week.

Rodgers also gave an update on the fitness of Adam Lallana after it emerged the midfielder suffered broken ribs during the recent 3-1 win away at Leicester City.

The Liverpool manager confirmed that Lallana has been playing through the pain in recent games but is now back fully-fit and available for selection against United. He continued:

“He [Lallana] took a nasty injury in the game against Leicester and I didn’t mention it because I wanted to protect the player and make sure he wasn’t targeted in games.

“He looks fully up to speed. He’s obviously had some work done since he’s been here and watching him in training, he’s been fine.

“He’s been available, but not fully fit. He looks much, much better now.”

Liverpool head into the game at Old Trafford sitting down in ninth place in the Premier League table after last weekends 0-0 draw at home to Sunderland, so Rodgers will be desperate to give their top four hopes a boost with a win over their fierce rivals this weekend.