Liverpool academy director Frank McParland has revealed the extent of academy midfielder Joao Carlos Teixeira’s injury that kept him out of action after his arrival from Sporting Lisbon last year.





LFC academy director Frank McParland

Teixeira was signed in February last year for a fee of £850k after impressing for Lisbon in the NextGen Series, scoring against Liverpool’s under 19’s at Anfield.

The signing of the talented Portuguese midfielder was seen as quite a coup – having already trained with Sporting’s first-team he was that highly rated.

But after his arrival he didn’t feature at any level for Liverpool due to a back injury, as McParland has now explained in an interview with The Daily Mail. “When we got to the medical his back was in a seriously bad way. We questioned going ahead with it but he was worth the risk. He was put in a back brace for six months” McParland said.

Teixeira is now featuring for Rodolfo Borrell’s reserve team and McParland is confident he will develop. “After some fantastic work by the physios he is starting to play again. He is going to be a top, top player” he said.

In an interview with Goal.com last year Teixeira said “I was in a great moment in Sporting Lisbon and I came here and they found a fracture on my back.

“I had to start a six-month [rehabilitation] and it was hard because when I play I want to show [my best] and I was injured for six months.

“I’m feeling much better now physically and mentally I’m always okay to play and I will do my best.”

Liverpool’s Under 19’s beat their Inter Milan counterparts 4-1 last night at Langtree Park to progress to the knockout stages of the NextGen Series, Connor Coady and Samed Yesil each with a brace.