Liverpool team news: Pep Lijnders makes Thiago claim ahead of Bournemouth clash

Liverpool’s assistant manager Pep Lijnders revealed that Thiago is still unavailable following his lengthly layoff with a hip injury.

Stepping in for Jurgen Klopp, he revealed that the 32-year-old is still out of action and it’s now been over six months since he featured for the club. His last appearance was a 31 minute cameo during the 2-1 victory over West Ham.

Speaking on Thiago, he claimed that he would be an incredible addition to their current set-up, which is currently in brilliant form: “We miss Thiago. Can you imagine our midfield, our new players we speak about and then you have Thiago in the middle as well! Guiding the others with his experience - we really miss him. He will not be available; it will take time.”

In terms of other players, youngster Ben Doak hasn’t featured since the victory over Leicester at the end of September. However, he was back in training yesterday and Lijnders claimed it was great to have his energy back around the squad, but it’s unclear if he will be put into the matchday squad after just returning.

“Ben Doak trained yesterday [for the] first time, how Ben Doak is: full of energy, a big heart, always wanting to go. Good to see that, really good to see him back.

Another youngster who has been out of action for most of the season so far is Stefan Bajcetic; the 18-year-old has made just two appearances this season and is still some ways away from returning: “And with Stefan, he’s not available at the moment and we’re working with the medical team to discuss how we introduce him over the coming period.”

He also confirmed that Curtis Jones will be back in the fold following his suspension in the Premier League and is ‘full of energy’ ahead of his return to the side, it’s likely he will receive minutes here following his recent start in the Europa League victory over Toulouse.