Robertson no longer playing through pain for Liverpool as Reds recover in refreshing break

Andy Robertson claims to be free of pain at Liverpool, with the Scottish full-back among those to have benefited from a welcome winter break.

The Premier League leaders have not been in action since blowing away Southampton 4-0 on February 1.

Jurgen Klopp took the decision to keep his senior stars out of an FA Cup fourth-round replay with Shrewsbury – a contest which the Reds’ U23 side won 1-0.

A return to competitive action will be made with batteries recharged on Saturday, with Liverpool preparing to head for Norwich.

Robertson says he will be making that trip clear of the niggling foot complaint which had been holding him back, with the Reds ready to kick on again in what has already been a record-breaking campaign.

Quizzed by the club’s official website on whether a break came at a good time, Robertson said: “For a few of us, definitely – people were maybe playing with knocks or injuries and it has given them a whole week to kind of clear them up.

“I know mine feels better, I feel closer to 100 per cent in terms of my body, which is always a positive. Being in training pain-free is always a nice thing, which maybe hasn’t happened in a couple of weeks leading up to that.

“To clear up any of that is a positive, for a week to just let your body recover. Hopefully we now have a strong finish to the season and we can see that the week was beneficial, and hopefully the results follow.

“But even if the worst-case scenario [with results], in terms of injuries it has managed to get some lads back fit, which is so important for us.”

Getty Images

Robertson, who has started 60 of Liverpool’s last 63 Premier League games and 17 of 19 outings in the Champions League, added on getting himself back up to full health: “To be honest, my body felt fine. I didn’t feel tired and it wasn’t tiredness. It was more the pain I was playing in at times.

“I pulled out of the Scotland squad in November with an injury and it probably continued on, then I took another knock on it and it probably got worse.

“A lot of us play through pain at times, that’s part and parcel of being a footballer. You need to be out there on a Saturday if you can. Where there’s a will there’s a way. A lot of us have showed that at times.

“For me, it was on my left foot, which is never the best. If it was on my right foot it probably wouldn’t even have been an injury. Being on your strong foot, it’s tough when you’re passing the ball and it’s sending pain up your leg.

“It’s hopefully a thing of the past, there’s been time to clear that up. I don’t feel I needed a rest physically, I felt as if I could still run for 90 minutes and do it at a good level.

“Those stats, I’m happy with them. I like to play games, I get paid to play games and it probably shows I’ve been doing a couple of things right if I’ve played that many games!

“I’m happy with the amount of games I’ve played and hopefully that continues for the next two seasons and so on. But when you get a week off you’ve got to take it.”