Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson steps up return from knee injury and will be fit for Euro 2016

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has reiterated that Jordan Henderson will definitely be fit for Euro 2016 as he steps up his recovery from a knee injury. The 25-year-old captain is a regular fixture in the midfield at Anfield, but has been sidelined since damaging the lateral collateral ligament in his knee during the first-half of last month's Europa League quarter-final first-leg draw against Borussia Dortmund in North-Rhine Westphalia.

Such an injury is the third suffered by Henderson this season, with a persistent heel complaint and a broken bone in his right foot resulting in a prolonged absence between August and November 2015. That latest injury was originally supposed to keep him out for between six to eight weeks, although Liverpool admitted at the time that LCL issues have been known to carry on for up to three months.

The former Sunderland midfielder has missed all of the club's last nine matches and Klopp confirmed last week that the deadline for players to prove their fitness for the Europa League final against Sevilla was the final day of the domestic season, when Liverpool go to West Brom. The manager provided another positive update ahead of the visit of Chelsea on Wednesday (11 May), revealing that Henderson was back in running drills on the pitch.

"Hendo first, really good news," he was quoted as saying by The Mirror at his pre-match press conference. "With his injury we had to rest him for a long time, we couldn't really do a lot.

"Yesterday he was on the pitch, not with the team. Only running and passing. But he looks good. We'll take it step by step. It's a short time before the Europa League final but 100% he will be fit for the Euros in France."

Henderson, who has earned 23 senior caps for England to date, has avoided surgery and will hope to be included in Roy Hodgson's preliminary squad for the Euros, set to be revealed at 14.00 BST on Thursday (12 May) at Wembley Stadium.

Klopp has rotated his squad freely over recent weeks, making eight changes from the side that cruised to a 3-0 victory over Villarreal for last weekend's clash with Watford. He also made 10 alterations before last month's rout of Bournemouth, five against Newcastle United and swapped eight prior to a disappointing loss at Swansea City.

That policy has brought mixed fortunes in terms of league results, although it is one that the German is eager to maintain ahead of a final stretch of three games in seven days. After hosting Chelsea this week, Klopp's eighth-placed side travel to The Hawthorns on 15 May and head to St Jakob-Park in Basel for the Europa League final on the 18th.

"We'll bring the fittest players," Klopp said of his team selection for Chelsea. "We had a few changes in the last game now most of the players who play tomorrow had a normal week. Then we'll make a squad for Sunday, then make a squad for Basel. We do it all the time like this. What I've learned is to rotate. When you're a young manager it's not easy to do this. We've used our experience."