Szoboszlai set to return for Liverpool’s Champions League trip to Fenerbahce

Dominik Szoboszlai is expected to return to Liverpool’s starting line-up for Wednesday’s Champions League meeting with Fenerbahce after recovering from the fitness problems that recently interrupted his season.

The Hungary midfielder is available for the trip to Istanbul and could start after being given time to recover from his latest setback.

Szoboszlai had previously acknowledged that patience was required during his rehabilitation. He missed Liverpool’s matches against Manchester City and LASK, and although he initially felt ready to return after a few days’ rest, he later realised he was not fully prepared.

“It’s very hard, you know,” Szoboszlai explained. “I’m the type of player, as you might know, that the last three seasons I want to play every 90 minutes.

“But sometimes, your body says ‘rest a little bit’ and my body told me to ‘Stay calm, you’ve had enough games now’. I missed games against Man City and LASK and then I felt again very good after a couple of days off but it seemed I wasn’t ready.

“Sometimes it is my heart and I listen to my heart and not my body. These decisions I made with what happened in the last weeks so today was the plan to come in – I was actually ready from the start but I’ve played 30 minutes and let’s see from now on.”

Alexis Mac Allister and 19-year-old Trey Nyoni are also included in Liverpool’s travelling squad for Turkey.

Ryan Gravenberch, however, will not make the journey after suffering a heel injury. The midfielder is staying in England for treatment, while the seriousness of the problem remains unclear.

Gravenberch had already been left out of Liverpool’s starting XI for their match against Arsenal at the weekend, with Nyoni selected instead.

Liverpool have won all three of their opening Champions League matches, defeating Atletico Madrid, LASK and Villarreal.

Those results have placed the Reds third in the standings. They will now look to improve their position among the automatic qualification places, with only the top eight teams avoiding an additional play-off round.