Diogo Jota nears Liverpool return as Jurgen Klopp provides Virgil van Dijk update

The Dutch centre-back has missed the last six games due to a thigh injury

Virgil van Dijk is losing his race to be fit for Monday’s Merseyside derby while Liverpool could also be without Thiago Alcantara when they host Everton.

But Diogo Jota should be in contention to make his first appearance since October while Roberto Firmino, who has not featured after the World Cup, could also be involved.

Van Dijk suffered a thigh problem in January’s defeat to Brentford and, along with Jota, Firmino and on-loan midfielder Arthur Melo, is back in training.

Along with Jota, Firmino and on-loan midfielder Arthur Melo, the centre-back is back in training.

Forwards Jota and Firmino could add more attacking options and firepower to a team who have not scored in their last three games, with the Portuguese the likeliest to be involved.

Klopp said: “Diogo is the closest. He trains now already for two days so another three days’ training are possible for him and I think he is in contention.

“Bobby is the next one. We have to see how he deals with training intensity and make a decision there. I don’t think Virgil is that close but we will work on that. Arthur is probably similar to Bobby.”

Midfielder Thiago missed training on Thursday and Klopp is waiting to see if the Spain international is available.

He added: “Thiago has some problems: hip flexor, stuff like this, so he was not able to train.”

Klopp’s Liverpool twice finished second in the Premier League behind Manchester City, who have now been hit by 115 charges about breaches of financial regulations. Potential punishments if they are found guilty could involve them being stripped of titles but the German chose not to comment on the situation.

But he urged his out-of-form players to use a Merseyside derby to demonstrate why Liverpool is special and change the direction of their season.

He added: “I think it is a time where we can show if we want to that the club is really special. The boys delivered a lot of great moments in the last years but in the moment we are fighting to change the situation in a better direction.”