Liverpool striker Danny Ings has revealed that he is happy with the progress being made on his latest return from a long-term layoff, but is unwilling to set a return date.
The 24-year-old cruelly suffered a cruciate knee ligament injury in November that ruled him out for the remainder of the previous campaign, soon after returning from a similar year-long spell on the sidelines.
Ings has been used from the bench three times for Liverpool since October 2015 due to the back-to-back injury blows, but the former Burnley man is remaining positive in the hope of finally being given the chance to make his mark at Anfield in the 2017-18 campaign.
"I'm doing really well at the moment," he told the club's official website. "Timescale-wise, I'm unsure but I'm feeling closer and closer every day. I'm back doing ball work. My fitness levels are getting back, it has been a while. I'm enjoying it and I'm feeling strong.
"If you dwell on things too long, you'll never make it back. You need to obviously be hurt for a while but then you need to get your head down, focus and crack on. That's always been my mentality. There wasn't really any other choice.
"For now it's just to get as healthy as I can, get as strong as I can and get fit, and to integrate with the lads as soon as possible and just build from there. I'm not setting any big targets. I'm trying to accomplish small things at a time. The next one is to integrate with the lads and get back involved."
Ings was used twice by Liverpool last season in all, with both appearances coming from the bench in the League Cup.