Federico Chiesa spotted before Liverpool training as Alisson Becker and Harvey Elliott boosts near

Alisson Becker and have both returned to training over the international break. While we await news from in his press conference later in the week on exactly when they will return, it looks like both have taken positive steps.

could be back before the Reds take on and Manchester City, while will be back after that and could feature against Newcastle United or Everton. But there has been no sign yet of a return for as he builds up his fitness and match sharpness after missing pre-season.

"I would not use the word concern but it is far from ideal for him and us," Slot said . "Because with the injury of Dioga (Jota) we have four attackers available, so this could have been a great moment for him to get more playing time.

"It is difficult for a player who missed out on pre-season and playing pre-season games and training sessions. You have to give a player more time to get to the intensity levels. It is a difficult balance to get him where we want but we are trying and he is trying everything he can to get to these levels."

As the likes of and — two players who didn't go away on international duty — trained alongside Liverpool's U21s yesterday, though, Chiesa wasn't spotted. He was picked up, however, by some eagle-eyed fans who released by Liverpool's official channels.

On a cold afternoon in Kirkby, Chiesa was briefly seen inside the AXA Training Centre. As the other players got ready to head outside, he and Liverpool's head of rehab physiotherapy Lee Nobes could be seen heading to a different part of the building, with the former Juventus man saying a quick hello to Salah.

That would suggest that Chiesa won't be back in time to face Southampton, which is no huge surprise. Ahead of the next busy period in the calendar, though, it would be a big boost to see him back on the pitch soon.

Liverpool.com says: Chiesa hasn't played much yet but he was always a low-risk signing. It is too early to judge if it was a bad move; that will only become apparent in a few months. For all we know, the Italian could return before the turn of the year and be back in contention for the rest of the campaign. Time will tell.