Liverpool Under-23s Midfielder Matty Virtue Returns to Training Following Lengthy Injury Lay-Off

Liverpool's Matty Virtue has been pictured in first team training following the ankle ligament damage he suffered in an Under-23 fixture against Leicester City early in November, a game in which he was on the scoresheet.

The 21-year-old had been an integral part of the Under-23 side up until the injury, regularly captaining them and providing six goals in ten starts. He was in fantastic form at the time, finding the net five times in his last four games from midfield.

After spending the first half of last season at Liverpool, Virtue moved on loan to Notts County, where he made 15 appearances during a crucial second half of the season that saw County make it to the League Two play-offs. Virtue featured in the 1-1 result at Coventry in the first leg.

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Under-23s manager Neil Critchley recently spoke to Liverpoolfc.com: “Matty had a little setback with an illness he picked up just before Christmas but he has been out and doing a lot of conditioning work and will be phased back into training during the next week to 10 days.”

Virtue's return to action will be a welcome one for Critchley and Liverpool, and he will be hoping to continue in the rich vein of form he showed earlier in the season.