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Jurgen Klopp has revealed that he rates Joe Gomez so highly he left room in the Liverpool squad for him as the teenager prepares for his eagerly anticipated return.

The England Under-21s defender will make his first appearance for the Reds in 15 months when he lines up in Sunday’s FA Cup tie with Plymouth Argyle at Anfield.

A ruptured anterior cruciate ligament derailed Gomez’s career in October 2015 - just days after Klopp’s appointment - and then an Achilles injury wrecked his hopes of a comeback last summer.

Klopp, who didn’t sign another defender to avoid blocking his path, always knew that the teenager would be worth the wait.

“It depends on the quality of the player,” Klopp said.

“If you bring a talent too early then it doesn’t help him, but with Joe for sure it’s worth kind of keeping space in the squad for.

“He was really unlucky. I can still remember the situation when he did the injury. I was watching the England Under-21s game on TV.

“Sometimes life should be nice - that the train doesn’t run away without you. Everyone was and is sure about his quality. He’s still a young boy.

“This club took him for a good reason before I was here. We tried to create a situation so he can develop and perform as well as possible.”

After two-and-a-half months of full training and a run of matches for Liverpool Under-23s, Klopp believes the time is right to put him back in the senior ranks.

Gomez has clearly bulked up during his long spell on the sidelines with the Reds having to tell him not to overdo it on the weights in the gym.

Klopp added: “We had to step back a little bit from this development! He has no muscle issues, I’d say!

“Players always need to be mobile and all that stuff, but of course when you train for that long at that age and you’re a bit skilled in muscle growing then it happens.

“Joe has never played for me but we have a good relationship. Maybe I spoke to him more than most of the other players. Injured players spend a lot of their day here with treatment and different types of therapy. We’ve had dinner together and it’s been good."