Liverpool trained in front of over 1,000 fans at the Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia on Sunday, as Diogo Jota returned but Curtis Jones missed out.
Having joined up with the squad in Pittsburgh, Jota took part in Liverpool’s open training session in Philadelphia as local fans watched the Reds prepare to play Arsenal (Wednesday night/Thursday morning).
Jones was one player not in training, though, having left the pitch after half an hour of Liverpool’s opening friendly vs. Real Betis due to injury.
Following the midfielder’s early exit less than 48 hours ago, Slot said: “Maybe [he] could have played on, but I think you could see that he was not 100 percent.
“Then in a friendly game, with so many days coming up in our tour as well, it’s best to take him off.
“Hopefully he can recover really fast, but we have to wait and see. But we hope he recovers really fast, so we can see him in the next few games.”
Robertson remains with the squad but didn’t train and is managing his fitness so will be unable to play against Arsenal and Man United.
“He is not fully fit yet,” said Slot on Thursday. “But we are expecting him in the end of the tour – maybe just after the tour – to be fully fit again.
“He took a small injury into the Euros and afterwards he had to recover from that after playing those games. But we will expect him back after our tour – but he joined us already.”
As well as Jones and Robertson, midfielder James McConnell also missed training. The youngster was absent from the Betis match, too, due to a “minor injury issue,” reported the Athletic journalist James Pearce.
Ben Doak and Trey Nyoni also sat training out because Slot is “keen not to put too much strain on the teenagers at this stage,” according to the Liverpool Echo‘s Paul Gorst.
Meanwhile, back on Merseyside, Jayden Danns and Bobby Clark continue their respective recoveries from injury issues. The latter has been suffering with a back problem since the end of last season.
Liverpool squad pictured in Sunday’s open training
Goalkeepers: Kelleher, Jaros, Pitaluga, Davies
Defenders: Quansah, Van den Berg, Phillips, Bradley, Tsimikas, Chambers, Beck
Midfielders: Szoboszlai, Endo, Elliott, Bajcetic, Morton, Stephenson
Forwards: Salah, Carvalho, Gordon, Koumas, Blair, Jota
Not involved: Jones, Doak, Nyoni, Robertson, McConnell
