Liverpool: Daniel Sturridge and Philippe Coutinho return to training but will miss Leicester City clash

Liverpool striker Daniel Sturridge will return to training this week, but not in time for the Premier League trip to Leicester City at the King Power Stadium. Philippe Coutinho, Divock Origi and Martin Skrtel are also set to resume work with the first=team squad after spells on the sidelines, and the quartet could feature in the weekend fixture against Sunderland.

Sturridge – who has only made four starts this season for the Reds – has been out since December, while Coutinho has been missing since the Capital One Cup semi-final defeat of Stoke City with a hamstring problem. Skrtel returns after six weeks out with a similar injury and Belgium international Origi is back following knee surgery.

The quartet's return comes as Klopp confirms Liverpool have concluded their interest in signing Shakhtar Donetsk forward Alex Teixeira, with no players expected to join the club on the final day of trading in the winter transfer window. The German coach is unperturbed, however, and says the fit-again players are the club's "new signings".

"Skrtel needs two to three days more before returning to training," he told a press conference, according to the Liverpool Echo. "Sturridge should return to training on Wednesday, Origi and Coutinho on Thursday. These are our transfers – new signings for Liverpool!"

Klopp has completed one deal in the January window in the form of Red Star Belgrade midfielder Marko Grujic, the Serbia youngster who has returned to his former club for the rest of the season on loan. But Liverpool have been recently boosted by the return and form of Joe Allen.

The Wales international scored a late equaliser against Arsenal in the 3-3 Premier League draw in January before scoring the winning penalty to send Liverpool into the Capital One Cup final. Klopp is delighted with his recent contributions, which saw him wear the captain's armband in the FA Cup stalemate with West Ham United.

"For me Joe Allen was always a first-team player," Klopp added. "He was not in the line-up a few times, that's true. No doubt about his quality. Now he is 100% in shape. It's the next transfer for us. I like his style and he showed what he's capable of doing. He was always in [the first-team], but he wasn't always fit."