Liverpool winger Sheyi Ojo hopeful his 'return is near' after back fracture

In-form Liverpool appear to be on the brink of an entirely clean bill of health after Sheyi Ojo revealed that he is edging closer to making his return from injury. The academy graduate is yet to make a first-team appearance this season due to a stress fracture in his lower back suffered in August.

"Back running!! The return is near," the 19-year-old recently revealed via a story on Instagram.

After spending the latter half of the 2014/15 campaign at Wigan Athletic, Ojo later returned to the Championship and scored three goals in 19 total appearances for Wolverhampton Wanderers before a loss of regular first-team football led to Jurgen Klopp recalling the promising winger in January.

He made his senior Liverpool debut against Exeter days later and notched a first goal for the club during an FA Cup third-round replay.

He featured 11 times in total under Klopp and later represented England at the 2016 Uefa European Under-19 Championship in Germany before turning down the opportunity for a summer holiday to immediately join up with the Reds during their International Champions Cup trip to the United States. While Ojio earned plaudits for his positive impact on that tour, the fracture, expected to keep him sidelined for approximately four weeks, was believed to be due to a heavy pre-season workload.

Alongside Ojo, Liverpool's only other previous long-term absentee was Joe Gomez. The versatile former Charlton Athletic defender, who has not played at club level since a 1-1 Europa League draw with Swiss outfit FC Sion in October 2015, finally returned to training earlier this month after his comeback from a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament sustained on England U21 duty was frustratingly delayed by an achilles tendinopathy.

Makeshift left-back James Milner was replaced by the much-maligned Alberto Moreno for Liverpool's eventful 4-2 victory over Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park on Saturday (29 October) due to illness, but the Liverpool Echo now report that Klopp will have the player back available once again next weekend as his side, currently level on points with Premier League title rivals Manchester City and Arsenal but third courtesy of an inferior goal difference, seek to secure their ninth victory in 10 matches against Walter Mazzarri's Watford on Merseyside.