GOING ABOUT IT FRIM AND PROPER

JEREMIE Frimpong was only an hour into his Premier League career when he felt injury strike.

- By PAUL GORST LFC Correspondent

Replaced on the hour mark of Liverpool's 4-2 win over Bournemouth on August 15, it proved to be his last domestic start for over four months.

After his initial comeback, a Champions League outing on October 22 - as the Reds swept aside Eintracht Frankfurt 5-1 - saw the diminutive Dutchman last just 19 minutes as a hamstring issue flared up once more.

It was another setback that kept him sidelined for a further two months, and by the time he returned to the starting lineup, in the 2-1 win over Wolves on December 27, what had promised to be a blindingly bright campaign, on the back of a £440m rebuild of a title-winning squad, had gone askew.

Arne Slot's players, instead, now find themselves in a battle for the top four, way adrift of league leaders Arsenal, which at the time of writing stood at 12 points.

Frimpong's dream of Premier League glory, that he will no doubt have harboured when his £29m release clause was triggered at the beginning of June, will almost certainly be forced to wait.

For now, though, the affable former Manchester City youngster is simply glad to be back contributing after so long on the treatment table.

The speedy 25-year-old has been one of the best performers since his return, with two assists and a cutting edge out wide, and he is glad to be back after a troubled start.

"I've been injured for a long time and I just want to play football," Frimpong said on New Year's Day.

"You could say that I miss playing football, so of course I'm happy to be back on the pitch, but I want to win as well.

"So today [against Leeds United] was really frustrating.