Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain has been ruled out of Liverpool’s plans for next season and Jürgen Klopp admits it will be “a bonus” if the midfielder plays a competitive game before May.
The 24-year-old missed the Champions League final and England’s World Cup campaign with a knee injury sustained against Roma on 24 April. It was confirmed on Wednesday that Oxlade-Chamberlain sustained multiple ligament damage and is expected to be out of action for up to 12 months in total.
Liverpool and the player knew the full extent of the injury within days of the semi-final first-leg victory at Anfield but refused to go public with the prognosis at the request of the England international. Oxlade-Chamberlain did not want the severity of the damage to disturb teammates’ preparations for the Champions League final against Real Madrid and kept the news between himself, Klopp and the medical staff involved in his recovery.
The former Arsenal midfielder, who was in outstanding form before the Roma game, had a successful operation eight days after sustaining the injury. That is expected to be the only surgery required. His rehabilitation is on course and Liverpool do not view the injury as career-defining, although they accept it may take a full year from the time of the challenge at Anfield for the £40m signing to make a complete recovery.
For more read the full of article at The Guardian
