Trent Alexander-Arnold: Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain Training a Boost for Liverpool

Liverpool defender Trent Alexander-Arnold has said the involvement of Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Rhian Brewster in the Reds' training camp in Spain has been a huge boost for morale.

The Reds don't play again until Tuesday and have taken the opportunity for some warm-weather training in Marbella, and the long-term absentees have been able to participate.

Alexander-Arnold spoke to Liverpool's official website and said of their involvement:

"It's something that lifts the spirits massively. You see them every day in the treatment room, you see them around, and I think everyone just instinctively asks them how long they think it's going to be now.

"It probably gets a bit tiring for them to be able to put an exact date on it because they are long-term injuries that you're not sure when exactly you're going to be back, but they've both shown they can push their bodies to the limit and get back as soon as possible."

Per David Lynch of the Evening Standard, Oxlade-Chamberlain—who has been out of action with a knee injury since April last year—is aiming to return in the final months of the season.

Brewster has been out even longer, having suffered knee and ankle issues when he landed awkwardly in an under-23 match in January 2018, and he's not expected to return until next season.

Liverpool supporters will have been delighted to see them back with their team-mates in training:

"It's been a really long journey for both of them; Ox's has been more high-profile than Rhian's, but Rhian has put in just as much hard work as Ox has," Alexander-Arnold added. "A lot of credit needs to go to him at such a young age. He hasn't played with the first team much, but he has been put in an environment where he is in and around the first team but hasn't had the chance to quite show himself."

Reds boss Jurgen Klopp is evidently hoping Oxlade-Chamberlain can still play a part this season, as football writer Leanne Prescott observed:

The England international was proving to be an excellent addition at Anfield last season before injury curtailed his campaign.

He's a versatile, dynamic and incisive option for Liverpool in midfield, so while it could take him time to get up and running when he returns, he can still be an asset for the Reds during the run-in.

Liverpool are in the hunt for the Premier League title, and they'll also hope to repeat last season's run to the UEFA Champions League final.

As for Brewster, the 18-year-old is yet to make his senior debut for the Reds, but he's had a promising career with them at youth level and scored 20 goals in 23 appearances for England's under-17s.

Such a long spell out of the game will have done his development little good, but he'll hope to reignite his fledgling career when he returns.