Attentions turn to the Europa League for Liverpool as the team prepares to face Sparta Prague in the first leg of their Round of 16 tie on Thursday.

After lifting the Carabao Cup and snatching a last-gasp win over Nottingham Forest, spirits are high at Anfield entering a crucial few days. With Sunday’s Premier League game against Manchester City on the horizon, Jürgen Klopp got a further boost with the return of Mohamed Salah after injury.

Here’s a look at five things liverpool.com noticed from the final training session at the AXA Training Centre before Thursday’s game.

1) Salah returns

There was only one story in town from Liverpool training – Mohamed Salah. The Egyptian superstar was back on the pitch after his recent injury and is in Liverpool’s 23-man squad for the game in Prague.

It’s highly unlikely that Salah will be risked from the start, but he’s clearly taken a big step towards his comeback and being ready to face Manchester City at the weekend. There’s a chance he could get some minutes off the bench as the Reds look to ensure he’s fit to feature on Sunday.

Either way, seeing Salah back on the training pitch with his teammates was a welcome sight for Liverpool fans. They’ll hope his latest comeback doesn’t encounter any setbacks like his return against Brentford a few weeks ago.

2) Kelleher rumors debunked

There was another reason for Reds fans to worry this week as unsubstantiated rumors hit social media that goalkeeper Caoimhín Kelleher had picked up an injury. However, they can no breathe a sigh of relief after the Irishman was pictured in training and named in the squad for Thursday’s game.

Kelleher has stepped up and performed superbly since first-choice stopper Alisson Becker picked up a hamstring injury. Losing Kelleher would have been a huge blow entering a crucial run of games and left third-choice Adrian as the remaining option.

Fortunately, there looks to be no need for Liverpool to worry. Kelleher looked ready to go in training and will be part of the 23-man squad in a competition where he has started five out of six games this campaign.

3) Klopp shows his skills

Liverpool might be facing an injury crisis, but things haven’t got bad enough to turn to the manager just yet. Nonetheless, pictures showed Klopp getting on the ball and showing his skills in training.

He appeared to be juggling a loose ball that came his way as he watched on with a smile. After a tough run, there are some positive signs on the injury front with Salah’s return and the likes of Wataru Endō, Andy Robertson and Dominik Szoboszlai back in the fold after managing problems in recent weeks.

4) ‘Polish Messi’ in the frame

As expected, a host of youngsters were involved in Liverpool training and will feature in the travelling squad to Prague. Among them is Mateusz Musiałowski, the 20-year-old forward who has previously been dubbed the ‘Polish Messi’.

The youngster arrived at Liverpool highly rated but has yet to make his first-team debut and work his way into Klopp’s plans. That could change on Thursday as he was pictured in training and named in the 23-man squad for the game.

After seeing a host of youngsters rise to the occasion in Klopp’s first team, there’s a lot of excitement surrounding the next players in line. Musiałowski is one of those and will hope Thursday is the time his chance arrives after he came close to leaving the club last summer.

5) 8 youngsters involved, 4 left behind

Several Liverpool academy graduates were pictured in training, but not all of them were taken to the Czech Republic. The eight youngsters in the traveling squad are Bobby Clark, Kaide Gordon, James McConnell, Lewis Koumas, Jarell Quansah, Conor Bradley, Musiałowski and Fabian Mrozek.

After beginning their most recent group stage match, Gordon will be hoping for additional playing time, but players like Bradley, Quansah, McConnell, Clark, and Koumas have a lot of momentum from their recent first-team activity.

Not all of the children who trained with the first squad, nevertheless, traveled to Prague. Lewis Hewitson, Amara Nallo, and Trey Nyoni were also photographed during the session at the AXA Training Center, although they were not included in the traveling party of 23 people. Due to a concussion, Jayden Danns was also sidelined and did not appear in any photos during practice before the game.