With a fortnight until Liverpool reconvene for their first pre-season under Arne Slot, Ben Doak has recovered from injury and already returned to training.
Doak was initially slated to report back to the AXA Training Centre late, having been named in the Scotland squad for Euro 2024 in Germany.
But with injury ruling the teenager out of selection, he instead headed to his home country for rehabilitation with an eye on making a mark in Slot’s first pre-season.
That has seen him link up with personal trainer Jack Haggerty of Empire Performance Coaching in Glasgow, picking up on ball work again after a “setback.”
“After a setback we are back to work for a big two weeks before Liverpool pre-season with client Ben Doak,” Mclean wrote on Empire Performance Elite’s official Instagram page.
Doak is yet to play a minute of football since undergoing surgery on a serious knee injury in December, having failed to feature in Scotland’s two warmup friendlies for the Euros.
He was a surprise absentee for the 2-0 win over Gibraltar and then departed the squad before their 2-2 draw with Finland.
With Liverpool’s pre-season due to begin in the first week of July, it could prove a blessing in disguise as he aims to hit the ground running and pick up the pace early on under Slot.
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The new head coach will start with a reduced group with many of his key players at the Euros or Copa America, but Mohamed Salah, Curtis Jones, Harvey Elliott and Jarell Quansah should be among the first back along with Doak.
Wataru Endo, Kostas Tsimikas, Caoimhin Kelleher, Conor Bradley, Stefan Bajcetic, Bobby Clark, Nat Phillips, James McConnell, Kaide Gordon and Jayden Danns will also be involved.
Doak made a big impact last pre-season, as one of 16 players to appear in all five friendlies, clocking 180 minutes on the pitch and scoring against Leicester.
He went on to play five times in the campaign proper, before suffering an LCL injury in a clash with Chelsea U21s in December which ended his season early.
The 18-year-old is not the only Liverpool youngster who has sought specialist training during the break, with Calum Scanlon and Isaac Mabaya among those working with SPS Performance in Dubai.
Carter Pinnington, the 17-year-old centre-back who could fill in during the absence of Virgil van Dijk, Ibrahima Konate and Joe Gomez, has headed to the popular Campus complex in Portugal.
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