Klopp: Oxlade-Chamberlain is an energy giver and a difference-maker
The Liverpool squad are reaping the benefits of having ‘energy giver’ Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain back in full team training alongside them, Jürgen Klopp has stated.
The midfielder has been participating in full sessions with his colleagues this week after a knee injury sustained during the pre-season camp in Austria had kept him out of the opening months of 2020-21.
And with Oxlade-Chamberlain back involved, Klopp feels those around him can’t help but notice the vigour he brings to workouts at the AXA Training Centre.
The manager explained to reporters on Friday: “Look, the first few weeks in a situation like that they are absolutely not to recommend, I would say; nobody needs that.
“After that, Ox is [his] best therapist himself, he is just a very positive person, a very optimistic person. The people [around him], his girlfriend, his brother, his mother and father and all that stuff, they are pretty close.
“Actually it is like this, in the moment when Ox joined parts of team training again then everybody gets the benefit of that. That’s the way he is.
“You don’t know you miss him because he is not there for a long time, but in the moment when he comes in and is in the gym with the players you think, ‘Oh god, right, it is much better when he is here!’ That is Ox.
“How I said, in the first few weeks the boys get all the help they need and from that moment on, especially with Ox, he is again an energy giver and doesn’t need too much energy from other people.”
Oxlade-Chamberlain has already battled back from one serious knee injury during his time at Liverpool, with a knee ligament issue sustained in April 2018 ruling him out for around a year.
He returned to make 43 appearances in all competitions last season, playing a key part in the Reds winning the Premier League, UEFA Super Cup and FIFA Club World Cup.
And Klopp is in no doubt Oxlade-Chamberlain will soon show his abundance of quality when he’s back on the field.
“I don’t understand these kind of discussions, to be honest, you have to be injured yourself once in a while to understand how difficult it is to find everything completely normal and natural again after that,” the boss said, in response to a question regarding whether the No.15 can hit his previous levels again.
“It is good for my players that they had injuries so they know that. There is no time or no rush in it or whatever. In training, what Ox did so far, you see his quality immediately, immediately. He is a difference-maker, you can see that.
“How long you can do that in a game depends on your fitness level, which depends on the amount of sessions you had before, games you had before and all that stuff.
“Being in the best moment of your career and being compared with that after coming back from an injury, that’s a really dumb thing to do. ‘Oh, he’s not that good anymore…’ – I have no time for that.
“Ox is an outstanding player, an outstanding player. He was always and will always be. Did he play always perfectly well? No. But he had a few really good games and helped us a lot.
“The longer he can stay without injury, the better he will be. This time we are pretty confident he can do that until the end of his career.”
Klopp added: “I think we have enough opportunities on social media or on YouTube or wherever to watch these situations again. If an LFC supporter forgot how good Ox is… my English is not good enough to tell that. I am just happy he is here again. The speed, the technique, the combination of both, right foot, left foot, can play different positions, played for us different positions, scored goals.
“When he is finally back - and I don’t know if this weekend will be the case or next weekend or a week later, I don’t know, we will see - then it is a big plus for us.”