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Liverpool are handing fit-again Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain a new contract.

Oxlade-Chamberlain will sign a 12-month extension just days after he made a return to first team action following a long-term knee injury.

It will take the England midfielder up until 2023 and is a strong show of faith and a classy gesture from the club after he spent more than a year on the sidelines with the injury suffered during last season's Champions league semi-finals win over Roma.

The 25-year-old, signed from Arsenal in 2016, made an emotional return on Friday night as a substitute in Liverpool’s 5-0 home win over already-relegated Huddersfield with manager Jurgen Klopp beaming: “He’s an outstanding guy. We’re all so happy for him.”

(Image: EPA-EFE/REX)

Oxlade-Chamberlain thanked the Liverpool fans for their support during his lengthy absence and also insisted he can come back better and stronger than he was before the injury.

He wrote on social media: “Thank you to everyone who helped to get me back on the pitch, all of the staff at the club and my team-mates too. Also a big thank you to you, the fans, for supporting me in some of my darkest times as a player. ‘The reception I got tonight is something I’ll remember for life. Thank you.”

Liverpool will now include Oxlade-Chamberlain in the squad which travels to Spain for Wednesday's Champions League semi-final first leg against Barcelona.

Roberto Firmino missed the Huddersfield game after picking up an injury at training earlier in the day, but he is expected to train on Tuesday — which would put him in contention to face Lionel Messi and co at the Nou Camp.

Klopp described the striker's injury as “a small tear in a very small muscle”, adding: “Apart from the word 'tear', everything is positive.

“It is Bobby so he might be ready for Wednesday, but we don’t know at the moment. But because it is Bobby, it is rather likely than not. Of all the bad news you could get, it is pretty much the best [outcome]”.