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Danny Ings will undergo knee surgery on Tuesday – and the Liverpool striker has not yet given up hope of playing again this season.

The 23-year-old suffered a partial tear of his anterior cruciate ligament in training at Melwood last week, and will go under the knife in London on Tuesday

Initial fears were that the problem could keep him out of action for up to nine months, ruling him out of the rest of this season as well as next summer's European Championships.

Ings, though, is targeting a swifter return. The injury is what is known by professionals as a “clean” tear, with the rest of the ligaments and muscles around his left knee unaffected by the issue in his cruciate ligament.

A clearer timeframe will emerge once surgery is completed, but Ings, who has been able to walk virtually untroubled since suffering the injury, is hopeful that he can make his comeback before the end of the season.

That will come as a boost to Reds boss Jurgen Klopp, who also lost young defender Joe Gomez to a cruciate ligament injury last week.

And in an interview with the Daily Telegraph on Friday, Ings vowed to catch the German's eye by approaching his recovery with complete professionalism.

He said: “The only way I can get in his thoughts and show him what a good professional I am is the way I am in the gym or by being positive around the lads.

“Sometimes negativity can rub off on players and I don’t want to affect their performance. When you are injured you have to keep a positive mindset and keep moving forward.

“There will be a few down days when I am not feeling myself and I am gutted I cannot be out with the team. But I am trying to stay as positive as I can be.”

Gomez, meanwhile, is also due to undergo surgery this week, having suffered his own ACL tear playing for England U21s last Tuesday.