Pep Lijnders has admitted it ‘would be a crime’ not to play Harvey Elliott against Arsenal following an impressive return to training, but revealed Liverpool have no intention of rushing the youngster’s return to first team duty.
The 18-year-old was back in team training on Tuesday having been sidelined since September after suffering a dislocated ankle against Leeds United.
Thursday’s trip to the Emirates will come too soon for the teenager as the Reds’ look to manage him carefully ahead of his return.
But Lijnders was waxing lyrical about the impression Elliott made back in training when explaining just how important he will be for Liverpool for the rest of the season.
“He didn’t lose his football brain during the time he was off,” the Dutchman told reporters. “Yesterday, it would be a crime not playing him if you see him train like that.
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“Some players don’t knock on the door, they run through it. And Harvey is a player like that in each session.
“But he is coming back from a long-term injury so we need to take our time. The most important thing is he gets team fit and prepares himself well for the moment he is really ready.
“It’s great to have him back. You saw in pre-season and in the first games of our season how he influenced our game, our style and our right side.
“We’re really happy that he’s back with us on the pitch, not individually on the C-pitch in the back, but with us doing all the things we normally do.
“We like the players with goals in them. We like the players who don’t just have dribble or technique but always search for the last pass and he influences our game a lot.”
