KEY POINTS

  • Lallana picked up an injury in England's World Cup qualifier against Lithuania in March.
  • Ings suffered a second serious knee injury in October and is sidelined since then.
  • The Reds face Watford at Vicarage Road on 1 May following their defeat to Palace.

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp remains hopeful midfielder Adam Lallana could be fit to face Watford in the Reds' next league tie at Vicarage Road on 1 May.

The 28-year-old suffered a thigh injury while on international duty with England and has been sidelined since then. He returned to outdoor training prior to the Merseyside club's 2-1 defeat at the hands of Crystal Palace at Anfield. Klopp ruled him out for the clash against the Eagles. The former Borussia Dortmund manager stressed the importance of Lallana's return from injury.

"Maybe Adam [Lallana] is coming back for the next game, which of course would help us in different situations and that's good," Klopp told Liverpool's official website after Liverpool's defeat against Palace.

Klopp also provided a positive update on striker Danny Ings, who is on the road to recovery after suffering a long-term injury setback. The former Burnley striker ruptured his cruciate knee ligament in October 2015 and was sidelined for the majority of the last season.

Ings suffered a second long-term injury setback when he picked up a knee injury in his side's EFL Cup victory over Tottenham Hotspur in October. He has been sidelined since then and despite providing a positive update, Klopp says the attacker is nowhere close to making a return from the injury.

"Danny Ings after a long time in the gym and all that stuff is running [again] since a few days ago. He looks good, he enjoys it a lot, but of course he is not even close to come back [yet]," Liverpool manager told the club's official website.

Liverpool are still third in the league table with 66 points from 34 games. They lead fourth place Manchester City by two points, while Manchester United are a point behind Pep Guardiola's side in fifth place. The two Manchester clubs have the advantage of two games in hand. City and United will face each other in the league clash at the Etihad on Thursday.

The Reds have suffered six defeats so far in this campaign and all of them have come against a team that are sitting in the second half of the table. Liverpool have four fixtures left in this season and two of them – West Ham United and Middlesbrough – are against the team that are currently placed 14<sup>th and 19<sup>th respectively.

Adam Lallana
Adam Lallana has not featured in April for Liverpool due to thigh injury Getty