Dominik Szoboszlai admits he is still not totally healthy after returning to duty for Liverpool too soon after suffering a hamstring injury earlier in the year.
Szoboszlai made only his fourth appearance since Christmas, scoring in Liverpool’s 6-1 Europa League round of 16 second leg victory over Sparta Prague on Thursday.
The midfielder suffered a hamstring injury against Newcastle United on New Year’s Day, which worsened two games later that month.
The 23-year-old has made four appearances since his return, the most recent being his first 90-minute performance since the 1-1 home Premier League tie against Arsenal on December 23.
And Szoboszlai remarked, “To be honest, I’ve been fitter in the past, but I’m getting back to my old form. I only needed games, and everything else would follow.
“After my first injury, perhaps it was a speedy recovery. We learned from it. Now I wasn’t in a hurry and simply wanted to be well. Now I’m prepared to depart.”
Four goals in the first 14 minutes sealed Liverpool’s emphatic 11-2 aggregate victory, with Szoboszlai saying the squad had discussed not giving Sparta any encouragement.
“We spoke before the game that we shouldn’t think about the result of last week, we should just get into a new game and we have to win again,” he was quoted as saying. “I believe we shown readiness. They most likely came here to have fun and do something unique if they were allowed to, but we quickly demonstrated that there was nothing for them to do by scoring four goals in short succession. We demonstrated in the second half that we are prepared and have energy.
Liverpool are now preparing for the FA Cup quarter-final against Manchester United on Sunday, and Szoboszlai told LFC TV that the continued pursuit of four trophies is “very good” and never boring for us or the fans. It’s difficult, but we have to be prepared for all competitions. We are everywhere, competing for the title. That is why we play football, which virtually everyone enjoys.
“(The home Premier League against United in December) was 0-0 and we had about 35 chances, now we have to score them.”
