What Federico Chiesa was spotted doing in Liverpool training that had Mo Salah and Luis Diaz in stitches

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Federico Chiesa injury update with the Liverpool winger missing the past nine games.

Federico Chiesa has stepped up his return as he aims to reach full Liverpool fitness.

The winger has endured a frustrating period since he moved to the Reds from Juventus for £10 million in the summer transfer window. Chiesa had been frozen out by the Italian giants and did not get a proper pre-season under his belt. That meant that he arrived on Merseyside short of fitness and has had a soft launch to his Liverpool career.

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Chiesa has made only three appearances so far and missed Arne Slot’s side’s past nine matches because of injury. The Italy international is again set to be absent for Sunday’s trip to Southampton as Liverpool aim to retain their five-point lead at the summit of the Premier League table.

Speaking at his pre-match press conference, head coach Slot admitted the plan was for Chiesa to be involved in some part of Friday’s training session. And indeed that was the case.

In the latest episode of Inside Training uploaded to the club’s website, the former Fiorentina man was involved in Liverpool’s warm-up. Then when the Reds went into a rondo drill, Chiesa was involved with players that included Mo Salah, Virgil van Dijk and Andy Robertson. The session then moved on to another passing exercise with mini goals and Chiesa continued to rub shoulders with his team-mates. The 27-year-old had a smile on his face and showed some neat touches in tight spaces. At one point, Chiesa pretended to stop to drill and put his hand down before passing the ball - which had Mo Salah and Luis Diaz laughing afterwards.

Liverpool will continue to be cautious with Chiesa, with Slot admitting the final part of a player’s rehabilitation is the ‘most tricky’. But it was a clear sign that Chiesa is on the right path - and he’ll be determined to display his quality when he is given the green light to be for match action.

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With Diogo Jota also closing in on a return from a rib injury, Slot will soon have six attacking options at his disposal. That will be welcome news given Liverpool’s hectic schedule as they aim to continue their Premier League title charge while they sit at the summit of the Champions League standings and are into the quarter-finals of the Carabao Cup.

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