Liverpool's Kaide Gordon set to make pre-season return after being sidelined for 17 months

A Liverpool forward is set to return to full training later this month having been injured for 17 months.

Jurgen Klopp is overseeing the biggest rebuild of his Liverpool tenure.

On Sunday the Reds confirmed the signing of Dominik Szoboszlai for £60million, with the 22-year-old’s arrival coming just weeks after the £35million acquisition of Alexis Mac Allister from Brighton

As well as new signings Liverpool will also be welcoming players back from injury in pre-season. A player making a particularly significant return is Kaide Gordon, who has spent a year and a half on the sidelines.

According to the Athletic, the 18-year-old returned to running on grass in May and will step up his comeback with the under-21s in two weeks.

The winger, who has played for Liverpool’s first time on four occasions since joining from Derby in 2021, has been sidelined since February 2022.

Gordon has endured a pelvic growth issue for the past 17 months, which meant he was not able to train and put on a special programme by the club.

Gordon will be given a personalised plan on his return, with the club careful to not overload him.

What next for Kaide Gordon?

Gordon first made headlines in the 2021-22 campaign with some eye-catching displays and an FA Cup goal.

However, he has not played a competitive match since a Premier League 2 game against Leeds United 17 months ago.

The player will reportedly not feature in the club’s pre-season tour, which commences later this month. He will instead reportedly begin the 2023-24 campaign with the Under-21s before returning to first-team training.

Speaking to The Athletic, Liverpool academy boss Alex Inglethorpe said: “It was a really difficult season for Kaide. Possibly even harder given where he was when he got his injury.

“But I’ve kept in touch with Kaide regularly throughout and I’d back him to find a way back to where he was. He’s certainly got the character to do that.

“As hard as it is, he probably just needs to reintegrate into the Under-21s in pre-season, find his feet and see how he is. He’s got to learn to trust his body again and get his rhythm back. After that, anything is possible.”

Gordon may go out on loan early next year, once he has returned to full-match fitness.