Liverpool are busy piecing together plans for another Champions League final clash with Real Madrid, and Jurgen Klopp is hoping that Spain international midfielder Thiago Alcantara will figure in some big selection calls for an epic encounter at Stade de France.
The Reds saw a classy 31-year-old playmaker forced off shortly before half-time in their Premier League season-closing clash with Wolves at Anfield on May 22.
Thiago subsequently underwent scans on an Achilles injury, placing his participation in a continental meeting with La Liga heavyweights into doubt, but could he line up in Paris on May 28? GOAL takes a look…
Will Thiago be fit for 2022 Champions League final?
Klopp told reporters at the start of the week that Thiago had "a good chance" of playing for Liverpool in the Champions League final, and the midfielder participated in training on Friday, suggesting he would be available.
Fitness problems are unfortunately nothing new for Thiago, with a further 23 games sat out through injury and illness in the 2021-22 campaign.
One of those was a cup final, with the former Barcelona and Bayern Munich star picking up a knock during the warm-up ahead of a Carabao Cup clash with Chelsea at Wembley in February.
He made amends by completing 120 minutes, and scoring in a memorable penalty shootout, against the same opposition in the FA Cup final on May 14.
Thiago is now desperate to see some game time against Real Madrid, with positive progress being made in his recovery from another untimely setback.
Klopp said on Wednesday when delivering an update on a key creative cog in his Liverpool engine room: “I only just met him now inside. There's a good chance.
“He will be training this afternoon. He did some stuff this morning. It was not planned that he was doing this session with the players this morning, but it looks like he can be part of [team] training tomorrow. That would be really helpful!
“We hope he can. It is surprisingly good. After the [Wolves] game I was not really positive about it, but then we got that news overnight that it was not bad.
“So we will see. I can imagine everybody thinks now it is three days before the game and he is not training, but we just have to be sure that we do the right stuff in the right moment.”
Liverpool injuries: Do Reds have any other concerns?
While Thiago is edging his way back into contention, Liverpool are also confident that Fabinho and Joe Gomez will be able to figure in Klopp’s pre-match preparations.
Both men have been training ahead of a crucial contest in the French capital, with more knocks being shaken off.
Brazilian midfielder Fabinho has not figured for the Reds since lasting just half-an-hour at Aston Villa on May 10, while Gomez was replaced at half-time during a 2-1 victory over Southampton on May 17.
They could figure against Real, but Divock Origi has already bid his farewells to Liverpool.
The Belgian forward, who has become a cult hero across seven seasons on Merseyside, will not be getting a chance to add to his Champions League final goal from 2019 as he is nursing a muscle problem ahead of hitting free agency in the summer.
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