In his official matchday programme notes for the visit of Villarreal in the Europa League, Jürgen Klopp pays tribute to Danny Ings following his return to training and praises the striker for remaining upbeat despite his lengthy lay-off.

The following is an exclusive extract from ‘This Is Anfield’, which you can pick up ahead of tonight's tie.

“Another big boost for all of us has been the return to full training of Danny Ings," the manager writes.

“This is a player I only got to see for 30 minutes during one of my early training sessions at Melwood before he suffered incredible bad luck and injured his knee.

“But the way Danny has attacked his rehab and the hunger he has shown to be back with the team is something I can only describe as an inspiration.

“His attitude and character around the building during this time has impressed me more than I can express.

“Of course, Danny still has much more hard work to do in his process of returning to the level we all know he can achieve.

“But if he maintains his attitude and continues to work as hard as he has done since suffering the injury, we will have a special player, as well as a special person.

“The same applies, although he is slightly further behind, to young Joe Gomez. The work he has done in private and the attitude he has shown proves to me this is a special young player and someone with a big future here at Liverpool.”

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