Jurgen Klopp has confirmed that Virgil van Dijk is likely to be ready to start for Liverpool against Newcastle on Saturday.
Van Dijk has been sidelined since being replaced at half time in Liverpool's 3-1 defeat at Brentford on January 2, but he was on the bench for the Merseyside derby on Monday.
Klopp has now revealed that the Dutchman has stepped up his recovery this week, and is in contention to play at St James' Park.
'I think so,' Klopp said when asked at his pre-match press conference whether Van Dijk would be back in the team.
'Yesterday (in training), he looked absolutely ready.'
Van Dijk's return would be a major boost for Liverpool as they aim to secure back-to-back wins to close the gap to the top four.
The Reds delivered a much-improved performance in their 2-0 win over Everton, and can move to within six points of Newcastle with a win this weekend. They would also still have a game in hand on the Magpies.
Liverpool's injury list has been a problem this season, though, and Klopp has stated that he will still be without a number of first-team regulars for the trip to Tyneside.
'Same squad as Monday night. Ibou (Konate) not yet, Luis (Diaz) not yet. But that's it pretty much,' he said.
'Nothing happened on the injury side. Thiago out. Calvin (Ramsay) had surgery, not available.'