You'll have plenty to celebrate when you subscribe to the Liverpool FC newsletter Sign me up Thank you for subscribing We have more newsletters Show me See our privacy notice Invalid Email

Jordan Henderson admits this has been the hardest season of his career – but is hoping to finish it in style with England.

The Liverpool captain has seen his campaign decimated by injury, starting less than half of his side's games in all competitions.

An ongoing heel injury ruined the first half of his season, and was exacerbated by a broken foot sustained in training.

Henderson struggled to recapture his best form upon returning to the side in the winter, and then suffered knee ligament damage away to Borussia Dortmund in April. And though he returned to action on the final day of the Premier League season, he was an unused substitute in last week's Europa League final as Liverpool lost to Sevilla.

For England, Henderson played 24 minutes in Sunday's friendly win over Turkey, and is now looking to nail down his place in Roy Hodgson's final 23-man squad for Euro 2016, which is announced next week.

“The team at Liverpool this season have progressed very well this season,” Henderson told the ECHO. “But for me personally, it's been the hardest season of my career so far.

“But you have to go through them at times. You're going to have injuries. Before that, I was quite lucky in that I didn't really have any bad ones, and this season they've all come at once.

“But hopefully I'll be stronger for it. I've come through it, and hopefully I can stay injury free and get back to my best.

“It's been a difficult season, but hopefully - touch wood - I can concentrate on playing football now, stay injury free and just get back to playing the way I know I can. I want to help the team do well in the tournament.”

Henderson had initially been a doubt for this summer's tournament, having suffered damage to his lateral collateral ligament away to Dortmund in early April.

But the 25-year-old worked tirelessly with the club's medical staff to return before the end of the season, and was glad to be back on the field for his country at the weekend.

“Straight away I was thinking 'Europa League final' – if we got there of course – and then the Euros,” he said. “They were the two aims to get back for.

“I worked very hard with the physios and fitness staff with Liverpool, and managed to get back quite quickly really. But I am still managing it, I need to make sure I take it day by day, and hopefully in a few weeks I am in a good place.

“It's nice to be back. I felt good. It's good to get some minutes under my belt to get that sharpness back.

“Now I'm looking forward to the next couple of games. Hopefully I can get some good training under my belt as well, but it's good to be back."

Henderson has featured regularly under Hodgson over the past four years, but knows he faces a battle with the likes of Jack Wilshere, Dele Alli and, perhaps, even skipper Wayne Rooney competing for midfield places in France.

He grinned when asked if he felt like one of the senior players in a squad bristling with youthful potential, but says he is happy to take on extra responsibility if needed.

“A little bit. I'm still young though, so don't be trying that one!” he laughed. “I'm still only 25!

“But yeah, I do feel a bit older, a bit more responsible with some of the younger players around. I try and help them as much as I can.

“We've got a lot of players who have done well this season, and there's a lot of confidence in the team.

“We need to be better than we were today at times, we need to improve on what we did here. We've only been together a few days, so that's understandable, but we will work on a few things this week in training and hopefully we can improve in the Australia game and keep getting better. That will put is in good stead for the tournament.”