Liverpool midfielder Alex Oxlade Chamberlain picked up a knee ligament injury in 2018 and since then it has been a long road to recovery for the England international.
While the midfielder has returned back to training this summer and has also featured in a few pre-season games but there have been doubts over his return to match fitness.
And now Alex Oxlade Chamberlain has himself accepted that he is yet to get back to his 100 per cent agility.
He told the Daily Mail: “it’s been a bit of a struggle. I forget that I haven’t played for a long time. If I am honest, the last couple of games haven’t been at the level that I want.
“A lot of the lads will feel tired in pre-season. But, for me, it’s a bit more of a shock to the system.
“There is a place where I think I should be and where I want to be. But there is a reality of the process that I am going through. It’s going to be peaks and troughs.
“Hopefully, I’m at the stage where it will keep improving. I just try to remind myself i have been through the worst of it.
“When you have been out for a long time and you were at a certain level, the thing in your mind is you want to get back there – and show that you are back there.
“The boys know me well enough to where I am and what I can do. I train with them every day. I trained with them for four months last season. They see where I am at.
“As a professional, you know and respect what you have to do to get back to that level – especially to play for a team like us, with the intensity we have. It just doesn’t come overnight.
“I don’t really feel like I have to prove to my team-mates or anyone in particular what I can do. But, of course, me as a person. I’m quite critical of myself and demand certain standards. I want to show people that I can be a part of this team.”
Liverpool will take on Manchester City in the Community Shield on Sunday and while Alex Oxlade Chamberlain will be named in the matchday squad, we doubt if Jurgen Klopp will risk playing him from the start.
