Good news for Liverpool: Nathaniel Clyne returns to first-team training

Bengaluru, February 16: Injured Liverpool right-back Nathaniel Clyne has finally returned to training almost seven months after playing his last match for Liverpool - a friendly against Tranmere Rovers.

Clyne, who featured only for 45 minutes against that Merseyside club in July 2017, has been out with a back injury. What started off as an injury that should have kept him out for several weeks ended up him requiring back surgery. The man who Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp called a machine was subsequently not included in the Champions League squad.

When Liverpool jetted off to Portugal to play Porto in the Champions League, pictures emerged of the right-back boarding the flight to accompany the squad. After the famous win, Liverpool went straight to Marbella in Spain for a four-day training camp. The camp featured Nathaniel Clyne practising with the first team for the first time this year.

Klopp: Nathaniel Clyne will help ensure #LFC have a ‘comfortable situation’ at right-back once he is fully ready for match action.

👉https://t.co/KBTvUKzzFb pic.twitter.com/P0g0K7Zi8b

— Liverpool FC (@LFC) February 16, 2018

Clyne is an indispensable defender for Liverpool. There have been seasons where he has played every game for the Reds and would rarely appear tired.

In his absence, Liverpool have managed the right-back position with two able youngsters - Joe Gomez and Trent Alexander Arnold. Though the two deputies have done a great job managing his position, they have often been let down by their lack of experience. Given 26-year-old Clyne has 70 apperances for Liverpool, experience is something he comes with.

Joe Gomez has shown a lot of promise but a lack of positional awareness has often let him down. This was seen during games against Manchester City, Arsenal and West Ham, where he was unable to prevent goals that Clyne’s experience would have definitely sorted out.

Klopp explains reason for Reds’ 25-man Porto squad 👉https://t.co/XaLtpnRGTB pic.twitter.com/sgXxOQGApQ

— Liverpool FC (@LFC) February 13, 2018

Trent Alexander Arnold, on the other hand, has fared marginally better and he has also managed to put in some good crosses from the right wing. He even scored a brilliant free-kick during the Champions League qualifiers against Hoffenheim. The only problem with him is consistency. Moreover, he is too young to be playing 35 games a season.

Though Nathaniel Clyne won’t be playing his first Liverpool game this season anytime soon, his return to training with the first team is a good sign for Liverpool. It will not only give Klopp three options for the right back position, it will also enable him to hand Trent Alexander Arnold a shot at the midfield position.