Press conferenceJürgen Klopp: We are patient with Joe Gomez - he has a big part to play

The defender has recently returned to action after being sidelined with a calf issue that ruled him out of contention for the entirety of the Reds’ November schedule.

Gomez faced a longer spell out last term, when a tendon injury kept him absent for nearly nine months from November 2020.

However, the 24-year-old gained some valuable minutes as a second-half substitute in the recent victory over AC Milan at San Siro – and Klopp is confident he has a big contribution to make in the remainder of this campaign.

“So, it was obviously not the best year for Joe with the injury and then coming back and having another injury because that’s how it can go,” the manager told his pre-Newcastle press conference on Wednesday.

“We didn’t rush his recovery or rehab from the tendon injury, but when you start playing again and training again and all these kinds of things after long term - [and] we had then four 100 per cent fit centre-halves, which is why it is not so easy to get game time immediately - then you have game time, then you play and then the body is not ready for it and that’s it.

“We are patient and I think Joe is patient now as well, that’s the situation. I don’t have any plans to give anybody on loan in the winter, so I will not be the driving force, let me say it like this. Nobody came to me and asked if they could go somewhere.

“Joe is now only back for a proper week or so, but because of the circumstances and things like this he could be involved in the squad, but he still needs time. He needs time to train, to get where he has been before.”

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