The Reds ace, bidding to make his injury comeback, was subbed off before half time in Friday’s Under-23s game at Derby County.
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain made his long-awaited return to action on Friday afternoon in the Liverpool Under-23s Premier League 2 encounter with Derby County.
The midfielder started for Neil Critchley’s side – his first appearance after 11 months on the sidelines – in the 3-1 away victory over the Rams, Curtis Jones scoring a brace and Rafa Camacho grabbing the other.
However, Oxlade-Chamberlain was taken off five minutes before half time, something which concerned some fans following the encounter, but was subsequently deemed a “precautionary measure” by the club.
According to a report in The Mirror, the England international was seen holding his hamstring as he chatted to a physiotherapist, but told reporters that he felt fine.
Late on Friday afternoon, the Liverpool website and Twitter account stated that Oxlade-Chamberlain had a “muscle issue” that he felt during his 40-minute appearance for the Reds which will be monitored.
“Hopefully it’s not as bad as it first looked. He was looking over [to the bench] and we weren’t sure. It’s maybe some kind of muscle problem and maybe one to assess tomorrow,” said Critchley.
Although efforts seemed to be made to play down the 25-year-old’s knock, there was a lot of concern among some Liverpool fans on Twitter:
Others, meanwhile, were a bit more pragmatic and optimistic:
Oxlade-Chamberlain, who was signed by Jurgen Klopp from Arsenal for £35million in 2017 (BBC Sport), has not played a first-team match since going off injured against Roma in the Champions League semi-finals last April.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
