Jurgen Klopp hopeful over Liverpool duo injury returns after La Manga training camp

Jurgen Klopp appears optimistic that both Dejan Lovren and Marko Grujic will be in a position to rejoin training on Liverpool's return from a five-day warm weather training camp in La Manga. Neither player was included in the travelling squad for sunny southeastern Spain as they look to recover from injury in time for a Premier League meeting with free-falling champions Leicester City on 27 February.

First-choice centre-back Lovren stayed at home to nurse a knee issue sustained after the 1-1 draw with Chelsea that kept him out of the dire loss at Hull City and last weekend's morale-boosting victory over Tottenham Hotspur at Anfield.

Serbian midfielder Grujic, meanwhile, has not featured in a matchday squad since making a 91st-minute substitute appearance in November's EFL Cup quarter-final defeat of Leeds United.

The 20-year-old, who arrived on Merseyside permanently last summer after an initial January switch from Red Star Belgrade, has started just three matches so far this term and is struggling with a persistent tendon problem.

Explaining the choice to leave Lovren and Grujic behind, Klopp told Liverpool's official website: "That was the decision of the medical department.

"Of course we have here exactly the same possibilities in the medical department and we have fantastic people at home and they can take care of the players [at home] and take care of them, which makes more sense."

Laying out a timeline for their potential returns, he added: "Hopefully, especially Dejan, [they] can come back to training after when we come back on Sunday, that would be great. Same for Marko Grujic, who is close but not close enough to make the sessions with us, and it's not nice for a player when you're close but you see this, so do your stuff and train [with the group] in the moment you can do it again. So that's all, there are no other reasons."

Remaining in England alongside the duo are reserve goalkeeper Adam Bogdan and striker Danny Ings, both of whom have been sidelined for the rest of the season due to severe knee injuries. Young midfielder Ovie Ejaria also continues to receive treatment after being forced off during the second-half of last month's shock FA Cup fourth round defeat to Wolverhampton Wanderers with ankle ligament damage.