Liverpool loanee Allan undergoes shoulder operation

Liverpool have cut short Allan Rodrigues de Souza’s loan spell at Apollon Limassol so that the midfielder can undergo surgery on a shoulder injury.

The Brazilian went under the knife earlier this week and faces up to four months on the sidelines, ending his spell in Cyprus.

Allan has been troubled by a series of shoulder dislocations this season, and Liverpool were keen to get him operated on early so that he will be fit to return to action as early as possible during pre-season.

The 21-year-old has enjoyed a mixed campaign with Apollon, making 16 appearances but finding his progress limited by recurrent injury issues. He has, however, played enough games to earn a championship medal, should Limassol go on to clinch the title. Sofronis Avgousti’s side are currently joint-top in the standings with APOEL, and agreed to release Allan from his loan early after a request from his parent club.

For Liverpool the plan now, once Allan is back fit, is to loan him out once more. He does not yet qualify for a UK work permit, despite spells in Finland, Belgium, Germany and now Cyprus during the past three seasons.

Ideally, he would be sent to a club playing in European competition, with interest already expressed from sides in Germany, France and Portugal. Dutch outfit NEC Nijmegen, managed by former Liverpool coach Pep Lijnders, are also keen, though would need to earn promotion to the Eredivisie if they are to have any chance of landing him.

A Brazilian international at U20 level, Allan joined Liverpool from Internacional in August 2015, but has since spent the past two-and-a-half years experiencing a number of loan spells.

The first of those, with SJK in Finland, ended with a league winners’ medal, and there was promise in a stint with Sint-Truiden in Belgium later that season. In between, he impressed Jurgen Klopp when training with the Reds’ first team.

"I saw him in training and I thought ‘oh my God, what can we do to keep this boy here and bring him into the line-up?’” Klopp said. “He’s an outstanding talent, a good player with a good attitude, everybody loves him, he’s a nice lad – so that’s really, really good. He’s a smart player.”

A move to Hertha BSC in the Bundesliga for the 2016-17 season brought just 16 appearances, and it was a surprise when, after interest from numerous clubs, he was parked at Apollon last summer.

With the Cypriots, he has at least collected Europa League experience – featuring, for example, at Goodison Park against Everton earlier this season – but his campaign has now been ended prematurely. Liverpool are yet to decide exactly where he will undergo his 12-16 week rehabilitation programme.