Jurgen Klopp says the dominoes could finally fall in Daniel Sturridge's favour, with an EFL Cup semi-final against Southampton potentially set to revive the striker's Liverpool career.
Sturridge appears likely to start Wednesday's first leg at St Mary's Stadium, with Sadio Mane at the Africa Cup of Nations, Philippe Coutinho still regaining sharpness and Divock Origi having played in the 0-0 FA Cup draw with Plymouth Argyle on Sunday.
After scoring 21 goals in the Reds' last genuine tilt at the Premier League title in 2013-14, the England striker's contribution this season has been much more limited.
With six goals in 15 games across all competitions, Sturridge has once again been beset by injury problems but, having got himself back up to speed, Klopp believes the time is right for the striker to put his mark on the team once again.
"It would be fantastic and sometimes you need to feel lucky with timing," Klopp said.
"Sadio is away, Philippe is on the way back and Daniel is already back. That helps and I hope it stays like this for him. Against Plymouth we could give him 20-25 minutes after the Sunderland game and he trained on Monday, so good news.
"But it depends. Does he stay fit? If Daniel is fit are there ever any arguments here about his quality? No.
"We had the time when he was already fit and he didn't start because there was a difference between being fit and match-fit and all that stuff. But it is a big step in the right direction.
"If he stays on this fitness level and improving as he always should, that is perfect. It is perfect news for him and for us that he can perform. It would be cool if we could speak like this for the next few weeks and months."
