On-loan Liverpool midfielder Arthur Melo has returned to first-team training as he nears a long-awaited return from a thigh injury.
The Brazil international moved to Anfield on a season-long loan from Juventus at the end of the summer transfer window. He embarked on a rigorous training program in an effort to show he could adept to the Reds' high intensity football, and made his debut in the Champions League before playing twice for the under-21s.
Arthur was an unused substitute for two Premier League games, against Everton in September and Brighton in October, before a thigh injury ruled him out for an unspecified amount of time. The spell on the sidelines could be close to an end, though, at a time when Jurgen Klopp's squad have been struggling for form.
The Mail reports that Arthur is keen to impress Klopp in the lead-up to the second Merseyside Derby of the season. Liverpool enter the game off the back of a third successive away league defeat, while their opponents won their first game under new manager Sean Dyche.
The recent defeat at Wolves was deemed "not allowed" by Klopp after his team fell 2-0 behind inside 12 minutes. "You can criticise, you can judge us, you can say whatever you want and you are probably right," the former Dortmund boss admitted.
Klopp started with Stefan Bajcetic, Naby Keita and Thiago at Molineux, with Jordan Henderson and Harvey Elliott among those coming off the bench. While Arthur's return will be welcomed, the manager's comments about the summer recruit acknowledge his lack of minutes before the loan move.
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"Arthur needs now just football - and training, especially, that's how it is," Klopp said in September, shortly before giving the former Barcelona man minutes from the bench against Napoli. "He wasn't in team training for a while at Juve, so he needs proper team training - and that's what we are doing with him.
"Can he play minutes? Yes. Should he play a full game? No, because he needs to get used to the intensity in each competition.
"It's not like in the Champions League you have to work less than in the Premier League. Not at all, especially not here. He is doing well, he is really giving his absolute all in training, we have to be careful with him as well and then we will see whether we can use him."
The game at home to Everton on Monday is one of two for the Reds ahead of their return to European action on February 21. Klopp's team beat their neighbours 2-0 in the corresponding fixture last season, with Andy Robertson and the now-departed Divock Origi on target.
