Monday was the first day we saw Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard out on the training field (pictured left) after previously being absent from pre-season training. The lengthy absence has led some to speculate that the Liverpool captain’s injury may take longer to heal than initially thought and the Sunday Mirror even suggested he could miss the first two months of the season. The fact that he is back on the training pitch though suggest such reports are wide of the mark, and even if we look at quotes from Gerrard a month ago, it seems the recovery process is still on track:

“I’ve had time to get my body right, get my body strong. I’m still four or five weeks (speaking on June 22nd) away from playing a game but I believe I’ll come back in better physical condition than I’ve ever been. I want to come back with a bang, I want to have a big season.”

There have been suggestions that he could make his first appearance of the season against Valencia at Anfield on August 6th, and that would certainly tally with the comments he made back in June.

Still, such a timetable would mean that the Reds first fixture of the season against Sunderland on 13 August maybe out of the question for Gerrard to start. With the state of the art Sports Science and Medicine department at Liverpool now, I fully trust them to get Gerrard’s recovery right. We certainly don’t want him coming back too soon and suffering another injury.

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The fact is though, unlike the lack of depth which has hindered Liverpool in the past couple of seasons, the absence of Gerrard won’t be so acutely apparent as would have been the case in previous years. Although still an essential first team play, Kenny Dalglish’s side demonstrated in the last six months of last season that they can play attractive attacking football even without our talisman.

In addition, the Reds have added Jordan Henderson and Charlie Adam to an already well stocked central midfield area, which also comprises Raul Meireles and Alberto Aquilani , which means his presence for the first few games will hopefully not be sorely missed.

Still, it would be great to see Stevie back in action as soon as possible, and with an important Premier League match away at Arsenal on August 20th, we would like to see him back sooner rather than later.

Although it must be said that Gerrard was not at his best when fit for some parts of last season, a lot of this may have been down to his groin problems. With these hopefully sorted out, we could see a return to some blistering form for the Reds captain, and if he can contribute to a midfield, with the likes of Downing, Adam and Henderson alongside him, it could be one of the most creative in the league, creating goal chances for the £57m strike force of Andy Carroll and Luis Suarez . Get fit soon Steven!

Read more of David’s articles at Live4Liverpool

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