Danny Ings' hopes of making a successful comeback from injury suffered a blow after the striker was withdrawn 36 minutes into Liverpool Under-23's win over the Manchester City reserves on Sunday (10 September).

It was the Reds striker's fourth appearance for the reserves this season as he continues to build match fitness ahead of a return to the first-team. The striker has made just 11 appearances for the senior team since joining from Burnley in 2015.

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Ings started his career in fine fashion for Liverpool, but was struck down with an anterior cruciate ligament injury in October during the 2015/16 campaign, which saw him miss most of the season. He returned to action the following campaign but suffered another knee injury, which ended his 2016/17 campaign.

The 25-year-old recovered from his knee injury earlier this summer and has made four appearances for the U23 side. The striker was given hope by Liverpool's reserve team boss Neal Critchley with regards to his current setback suggesting that his withdrawal was merely precautionary and Ings will hope that he can recover for their next Premier League 2 game against West Ham United on 18 September.

"It's more a precaution than anything," Critchley told Liverpoolfc.com. He felt something very early in the game and he wasn't quite right, so we're not taking any chances with Danny and there are plenty of first-team games to come."

"We'll just look after him and assess him, but I'm sure he'll be fine," the Reds U23 boss added.

The former Burnley forward will have his work cut out to make his way back into first-team reckoning as his injuries have seen him fall down the pecking order. Roberto Firmino, Daniel Sturridge and Dominic Solanke are the manager's preferred options in the number nine role at the moment.

Danny Ings
Danny Ings in action against the Arsenal reserves earlier in the summer Getty
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