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Jordan Henderson has a spring in his step.

Healthy and happy, the Liverpool skipper will wear the armband with pride when he walks out at the new-look Anfield to face champions Leicester City on Saturday evening.

“I feel I am ready to lead this team and win things,” he said.

“There are no doubts about that.”

It’s a far cry from the struggles of an injury-ravaged 2015/16 campaign. As if taking on the role vacated by the talismanic figure of Steven Gerrard wasn’t tough enough, Henderson’s bid to put his own stamp on the captaincy was hampered by a succession of painful setbacks.

There were times when he felt helpless - unable to lead from the front and contribute to the level he craved. He didn’t feel like the Liverpool captain.

“I’ve never felt that I didn’t want the captaincy but there were times last season when I was very down because I wasn’t playing and I questioned my contribution as captain because of that,” he said.

(Image: Alex Livesey/Getty Images)

“I couldn’t help on the pitch as I wanted to and so Milly (James Milner), as vice-captain, had to take the role on.

“It was a very difficult time and I was down. There were a lot of things going through my head and though there was never a time when I didn’t want the captaincy or doubted whether I was the right man for it, there were times when it was hard to feel like the captain because I wasn’t contributing on the pitch.

“I feel as though I’ve come through that now.”

After limping off against Bournemouth last August, Henderson was sidelined for three-and-a-half months - the longest absence of his career - by a debilitating heel condition.

Henderson also broke a metatarsal in training but it was the issue with his heel which gave him sleepless nights. There was no quick fix but a range of injections, including nerve blocks, got him playing again in late November.

Plantar fasciitis - a thickening of the band of tissue running underneath the sole of the foot – continued to affect him, even after the ligament fully ruptured in January.

In April there was more misery as knee ligament damage sustained against Borussia Dortmund kept him out for another five weeks. He returned to fitness before the end of the season to make the England squad for Euro 2016 but was an unused substitute as Liverpool capitulated in the Europa League final against Sevilla.

“There were a few low points,” he said.

“Not being able to carry on against Bournemouth, when I redid my heel against Sunderland, and Dortmund was another, especially with the Euros coming up and a cup final. That was a difficult time.

“People will look back at last season and question whether I should have played at all at certain times with my injuries, but that is just the way I am. I want to play football and I want to be on the pitch as much as I can.”

Now pain free, Henderson is in a very different place - both physically and mentally.

This is the best I've felt in years

“The problem with my heel has completely gone,” he said. “I feel a million dollars compared to last season. I am feeling very positive.

“At the Euros I didn’t feature much in the games but I was still training and using that to get back to fitness. I didn’t have too much time off after that and did my own stuff to make sure when I came back I was fit. I had a good pre-season and this is probably the best I have felt in a few years.

“The biggest thing for me last season was not the captaincy but not playing regularly. When you’re not playing it is difficult to feel that you are the leader of the team. You want to help but I couldn’t. That’s a big difference with this season. I feel good, I feel fit.

“I feel as though I am doing what is being asked of me in games and I’m a lot more confident going into games. Last year I was playing games when I wasn’t 100% and mentally that isn’t great.”

Since his £16million move from Sunderland five years ago, Henderson has faced a seemingly endless battle to win over his doubters.

Bought by Kenny Dalglish, the midfielder came through the experience of a torrid first season at Anfield. From being offered to Fulham in part exchange for Clint Dempsey in the summer of 2012, Henderson transformed Brendan Rodgers’ opinion of him to such an extent that he was made captain.

Proving himself to Jurgen Klopp last season was problematic due to his injury woes but Henderson never feared that he would part of the summer exodus.

“The difference with Kenny and Brendan was that I was fit and ready,” he said.

“I was available to play every week but with the new manager I’ve not been able to do that until the start of this season. I wanted to impress him last season and it was difficult sitting out and watching.

“But the manager always knew about my injury and he was brilliant in that respect. He knows what goes on behind the scenes in training whereas a lot of other people don’t. If I was linked with other clubs, what he was saying to me was the total opposite to what other people were saying and what people were writing.

“I still felt confident during the time I was injured because of the relationship that I had with the manager and the confidence I have got in myself to come back stronger and prove people wrong again.

“Managers come and go and you want to impress the new one. That’s human instinct. Sometimes, especially me at times, you can overdo that. I can try too hard, I can try too much which I’ve spoken to the manager about a few times. That is in terms of what I need to do for the team instead of what I want to do and what I can do.

“I need to concentrate more on that and I feel as though I’ve done that over the first few weeks of the season. I still don’t think he has seen the best of me yet which I’m quite excited about.”

I only focus on the opinions of the people important to me

As Liverpool captain, the scrutiny is always intense. Henderson was a target of criticism for many supporters after last month’s wretched defeat to Burnley. He didn’t need telling that standards had slipped and responded with a much more composed display against Tottenham prior to the international break.

“It tended to bother me more when I was younger but nothing seems to bother me as much as if we lose a game or I don’t feel like I’ve played well,” he added.

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“There is nobody who seems to get down about it as much as I do. When I go home I can’t switch off as I’m always thinking about it.

“To be honest I try to just focus on opinions of me that are important from the people that surround me. My friends and family, my team-mates, my manager at Liverpool and England.

“I feel as though I’ve always had to prove myself. I wasn’t able to do that last season but now I feel as though I’m better off for going through that experience.

“I’ve come out the other side of it and I’m in a good place.”