Jurgen Klopp has said that Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson is closing in on a return from injury and could be fit for next weekend's encounter with Manchester United.
The midfielder picked up a heel injury during the New Year's Eve victory over Manchester City and sat out the trip to Sunderland less than 44 hours later.
Klopp confirmed that Henderson will not feature in Sunday's FA Cup tie with League Two side Plymouth Argyle and added that he may not "risk" the England international for Wednesday's League Cup semifinal first leg at Southampton.
"Actually, it is good news if you want," Klopp said of Henderson's fitness. "We had this issue with the heel and we had to take him out for a while, but he is already on the way back.
"He has no chance for the weekend and I am sure [there'll be] no risk for Southampton, but then I think it is absolutely possible that he's back."
Of Marko Grujic, who has been sidelined with a tendon issue since the end of November, Klopp added: "Yes [he is still injured], but he is in a good way too. Maybe the end of this week or the start of next week he will be back in team training.
"It was difficult and we had to do not too much because it was how it is with muscles, they all heal differently. In this case, he obviously took a little bit longer. He is not injured anymore, but he is not match fit."
Meanwhile, in a discussion with U.S. women's international Carli Lloyd, Henderson admitted he quickly had to adjust to the role of Liverpool captain after taking over from Steven Gerrard in the summer of 2015.
"I sort of grew into it over a short space of time," Henderson told Lloyd in an interview for the club's official website.
"I shout now and then but not too much. Maybe on the pitch I am more vocal and then off the pitch I talk to people one-on-one a bit more and try to lead by example when I'm off the field.
"I try to lead my life right and work as hard as I possibly can and do the best for my teammates as well.
"So I am really enjoying it and there are a lot of good captains and leaders in the team."