Oxlade-Chamberlain to miss Community Shield with knee injury

The 27-year-old was injured in a challenge at Liverpool's pre-season training camp in Austria and has returned to England to begin his rehabilitation.

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain is expected to miss all of Liverpool's pre-season games.

Liverpool midfielder Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain is set to miss next week's Community Shield game against FA Cup winner Arsenal after sustaining a knee injury during pre-season training, manager Jurgen Klopp said on Friday.

The 27-year-old was injured in a challenge at the Premier League champion' pre-season training camp in Austria and Liverpool said he has returned to England to begin his rehabilitation.

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This year's Community Shield game, the traditional English season-opener between the FA Cup and top-flight league winners, will be played at Wembley Stadium on August 29.

“It looks like it is very similar to what Hendo (Jordan Henderson) had which keeps him out... we don't know for sure exactly how long,” Klopp told the club website.

“But for sure this pre-season he will not make a game, Arsenal for sure not and then we will see. The next game is probably two weeks later, but I don't know.”

Oxlade-Chamberlain was sidelined for over nine months during Liverpool's 2018-19 campaign after he ruptured the cruciate ligament in his right knee.

Klopp added that captain Henderson and defender Joel Matip have made progress in recovering from a knee injury and a foot problem, respectively, and the German manager said he hopes to have them ready for the first match of the league campaign.

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“Both are very positive, both are more or less pain-free now,” Klopp said. “In the moment when they give us the green light then they are back in team training.”

Liverpool is scheduled to play friendly matches against Austrian champion Salzburg and Bundesliga side Vfb Stuttgart in its pre-season camp before it begins its league title defence against newly-promoted Leeds United on September 12.