Jürgen Klopp savoured the “proper fairytale” of Harvey Elliott’s Liverpool comeback as the teenager scored his first goal for the club, 21 weeks after suffering a dislocated ankle, in a 3-1 win against Cardiff.
Elliott was taken off on a stretcher in Liverpool’s September win at Leeds, prompting fears for his future in an injury of such apparent severity that Klopp declared it was one of his worst moments in the game. But the winger scored a high-class goal, 18 minutes into his return, while the debutant Luis Díaz began his Liverpool career with an assist for Takumi Minamino’s strike.
“Coming on is a great step back, scoring the goal makes it a proper fairytale,” Klopp said. “Harvey Elliott’s goal was very touching. I have known him for a while now, I know what an incredible talent he is and an incredible kid he is. When we lost him at Leeds, it was one of the hardest moments of my career.”
Klopp praised Elliott, 18, for the attitude he has shown during his comeback, adding: “There are so many things to do in this long period, you can do a lot of wrong things and luckily he did a lot right. He is still a fearless boy and a great footballer. When you are that young you deal with it better. Even on the first day, he was pretty much on the way back.
“Probably his biggest talent is how ready he is mentally for all the things out there. He is a kid but on the pitch not so much. He was buzzing and waiting for this moment. When he got the injury, I saw him two days later at the training ground and I was in a worse mood than he was. He was saying, ‘Come on, boss, head up.’ He is an exceptional talent in a lot of departments.”
Elliott paid particular tribute to Liverpool’s rehab physio. “The list goes on but one man most important is Joe Lewis, one of the physios,” he said. “He took me in the early hours until late at night and got me strong again.”
