Short-term goals are the preoccupation for Danny Ings as the Liverpool striker treads carefully along his road to a full recovery at Melwood.

The Englishman’s opening two years with the Reds have been ruined by misfortune, an anterior cruciate ligament injury prematurely ending his 2015-16 campaign before a knee complaint did the same last season.

Like several others, Ings has been a regular at the training complex during the summer to continue his rehabilitation progress and strengthen his conditioning.

That dedication has helped the No.28 feel ‘strong’ as his teammates report for pre-season training, though he is wisely refusing to look too far ahead.

“I’m doing really well at the moment,” Ings told Liverpoolfc.com.

“Timescale-wise, I’m unsure but I’m feeling closer and closer every day. I’m back doing ball work. My fitness levels are getting back, it has been a while. I’m enjoying it and I’m feeling strong.

“If you dwell on things too long, you’ll never make it back. You need to obviously be hurt for a while but then you need to get your head down, focus and crack on.

“That’s always been my mentality. There wasn’t really any other choice.”

The last time Ings experienced the thrill of scoring a competitive goal for Liverpool was in October 2015 and the 24-year-old admits his next strike will likely feel better than any other.

But, at the moment, such thoughts are put to one side as he focuses only on the immediate objective, which is currently the prospect of joining his teammates in training.

“For now it’s just to get as healthy as I can, get as strong as I can and get fit. And to integrate with the lads as soon as possible and just build from there,” explained Ings.

“I’m not setting any big targets. I’m trying to accomplish small things at a time. The next one is to integrate with the lads and get back involved.”

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