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Liverpool defender Joe Gomez was given an emotional round of applause by his team-mates after making a long-awaited return to full training yesterday.

The hugely popular Gomez was greeted with the impromptu welcome when rejoining the senior squad for the first time since the knee ligament injury that brought a promising start to his Anfield career to a shuddering halt exactly 12 months earlier.

Gomez ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament while on international duty with England under-21s last October.

The 19-year-old was close to a return to full training in mid-July but suffered a setback when diagnosed with tendinopathy in his Achilles.

Liverpool have been understandably keen to tread carefully with Gomez’s recovery, but now the player has taken a significant step towards a return to first-team consideration.

LFC training in pictures

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Having been sidelined for such a lengthy period, Gomez remains some time away from adding to the seven appearances he made for the Reds before injury struck.

Gomez, who can play centre-back and left-back, was bought by Brendan Rodgers for an initial £3.5million from Charlton Athletic in June 2015.

And while he has been unable to feature under current Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp, the German rates Gomez highly and sees him as a potential key squad member in the coming seasons.