Jurgen Klopp has talked up the importance of Dejan Lovren and Jordan Henderson to Liverpool’s hopes after the pair’s successful return to the team following injury layoffs.
Henderson has made just three Barclays Premier League starts under the German manager, with a heel issue and a broken metatarsal having kept him sidelined between August and December.
Lovren, meanwhile, sustained a knee injury during the 2-2 draw with West Bromwich Albion earlier this month, but made a sooner-than-expected comeback on Boxing Day against Leicester City due to Martin Skrtel’s absence.
Both players were strong contenders for the man of the match accolade as the league leaders were defeated 1-0 at Anfield thanks to Christian Benteke’s second-half strike.
And on Lovren, who has overcome a patchy start to his Reds career to put on some imperious recent showings,
“I only heard that supporters or whoever were not too happy with the performance of Dejan when he came here,” Klopp said. “”I can’t say anything about this since I’m here. He gets better and better, that’s the truth.
“He can show how strong he is and, for me, I’m not surprised about this because I knew about his quality.
“I was a little bit surprised about what everybody told me about him, so I’m happy for him that he can show this now.”
Henderson’s performance against Claudio Ranieri’s team was arguably his best since he returned to the starting XI against FC Sion on December 10.
And Klopp believes the club captain will be key to the Reds going forward as he begins to hit his stride and builds up fitness.
“He was strong,” Klopp continued. “That’s how it is. He gets his rhythm, and it’s very important that he can stay in this rhythm.
“The next step for him against Leicester, he was really dominant …
“But it was really good and I hope he stays fit and he will help us, of course — he’s a high-quality player.”
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