Brendan Rodgers spoke to the media on Friday afternoon ahead of Sunday’s visit of former club Swansea City to Anfield.
The Liverpool boss confirmed that defender Glen Johnson has trained this week and is back available after an ankle injury kept him sidelined for the past month.
“Glen’s been back training and he’s felt as good as he’s done for a long time. He’ll come into the squad [this weekend]” explained Rodgers.
Johnson’s return is likely to mean either himself of Jon Flanagan replacing Aly Cissokho at left-back.
Rodgers explained how left-back Jose Enrique, who has been out since October, has been to America to seek specialist treatment on his knee injury.
“Jose Enrique has been sent to America to get some specialist advice on his knee injury” explained Rodgers. “We’re looking to try and put an end to his injuries this season.”
Centre-back Mamadou Sakho though remains sidelined, he’s been out since the Chelsea match over Christmas. “Sakho is still probably a week or so away” explained the boss.
On midfielder Lucas, the boss said “Lucas Leiva is doing well but he’s not back in the squad yet.”
Meanwhile, the boss was asked about last week’s FA Cup exit:
“Last week we were disappointed to go out the cup. I think you see in the players reactions after the game. Our performance levels were really good. But now focusses us on what’s remaining.
“Ideally we would have more games and be in more competitions but gives us chance to ensure players fitness levels are correct and focus on one game.”
Asked about the Reds’ home form this season, with 11 wins from 13 games, Rodgers said:
“It’s something we’ve been building towards and need to continue our work. We just need to go in with the same approach, that same energy and commitment in games.
“We go into every game looking to own the pitch. We have to play like we own it. That’s always been the mantra here for many many years.
“We back ourselves now and we expect to win. Dealing with that pressure has really helped.
“Everyone’s working tirelessly to achieve results. You do that consistently and you get momentum.”
Finally, Rodgers was asked about Yevhen Konoplyanka, who scored against Tottenham in the Europa League last night:
“We’ve got lots of people that were looking at and we’ll assess where we at the end of the season and take it from there.”
Liverpool face Rodgers’ form side Swansea City at Anfield on Sunday (1:30pm kick off).
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