Goalkeeping coach John Achterberg says Liverpool’s Adrian was undertaking extra training sessions during the current international break to make up for the Spaniard’s lack of pre-season workouts.
Speaking to Liverpoolfc.com, Achterberg disclosed that Adrian had not been sitting back and taking it easy since we last saw him in action.
“We did a few extra sessions with them both last week at Melwood. Obviously, Adrian came late in the summer to us and then after that he had an ankle injury, so we thought it would be beneficial to do some more sessions to keep it going, really.
“We did some decent workouts with him. Distribution, crosses, speed and reactions, power – we worked a little bit on everything just to help him and keep him fit and ready.
“He also had a few days off, but not the full week. We kept it ticking over to make sure he is ready to go again.”
Achterberg also had high praise for how Adrian has conducted himself and performed in a relatively high-pressure situation – replacing Alisson in the first-team – just days after his arrival on a free transfer.
“Obviously he needed to adapt to the way we play, with wanting him to play out, but he’s done good and picked everything up. We couldn’t be any happier with how it’s gone.
“He is a really nice guy, he is always positive and good to talk to. He helps the other goalies by talking with them, so it’s going well. He fits in really well with the group, which is important.
“It is really difficult for anyone to replace Ali, especially when you’ve not had a chance to settle and pick everything up. He had to be straight in after maybe four or five sessions. Then we had two more sessions, played the Super Cup final and then he got the injury, so there was not a lot of time to do extra training.
“Coming to Liverpool, there are high expectations but he has dealt with them really well. He has stayed calm and relaxed and shown a positive, confident manner, which helps the team a lot.”
Adrian will keep his place for another few weeks at least as Alisson continues his road back from a calf injury sustained on the opening night of the season against Norwich City.
Liverpool play Newcastle United at Anfield this Saturday.
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