Liverpool received a double boost on Thursday as Brendan Rodgers confirmed that defensive midfielder Lucas Leiva and defender Mamadou Sakho have both returned to training at Melwood.

The former has missed six weeks with a knee injury picked up against Aston Villa last month, while the latter has been out of competitive action since suffering a hamstring problem at Chelsea in December.

Saturday's trip to Southampton in the Barclays Premier League will arrive too early for Lucas, but his French teammate will be assessed before a final decision is made on his potential participation.

Rodgers told reporters today: "We've obviously had a couple of players return to training. Young Sakho has trained this week, which has been great. We'll see if it's too early for him this weekend.

"And Lucas Leiva rejoined the group today, which was great. Jose Enrique is still out, but apart from that we don't have any major injuries now."

The Northern Irishman was asked for more details on Enrique's situation - the Spaniard has not featured since the beginning of November - and provided the latest news.

"It has just been ongoing," Rodgers responded. "He has obviously got the issue with his knee; he has come back after a good spell in America.

"He is rehabilitating well here. There's no timeline on it. I trust the medical team here, they are very good, and they'll advise me when he's nearly fit."

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