Jose Enrique Fit for the New Season

Following last seasons injury plagued campaign, Liverpool fullback Jose Enrique says he’s feeling good and is ready to kick off the Reds Premier League assault when they face Southampton at Anfield in just over a weeks time.

“I’m feeling good” said the Spaniard following the Merseyside giant’s pre-season tour of North America. “I was training on my own and running a lot, and it’s not the same when you play with a team because it’s a lot more with the ball and a different type of running.” The defender, who moved from Newcastle in the summer of 2011 for a fee of £7mil, made only nine appearances last season with an operation to correct an ongoing knee problem ruling him out for a large swathe of the year.

Enrique got some time on the pitch during Liverpool’s jaunt across the USA and is expected to see a little more action when they welcome German side Borussia Dortmund to Anfield this weekend. “I’m still getting my fitness back but I feel really good and confident that I can play soon” he continued. “It’s little by little, and not just me, everyone is getting their fitness. If the manager wants me to play in the first game of the season, I am ready.”

Despite youngster Jon Flanagan — primarily a right-sided defender — showing that he’s more than capable of covering on the opposite flank if need be, the Reds are expected to bring in competition for the Spaniard on the left with fellow countryman Alberto Moreno currently part of an ongoing tug-of-war between the Premier League club and his hometown outfit Sevilla.