The 26-year-old is desperate to make up for lost time after he spent the majority of last season on the sidelines following a knee injury he picked up in April 2018.
Oxlade-Chamberlain suffered cruciate knee ligament damage in Liverpool’s Champions League semi-final second leg clash with Roma, which also saw him miss England’s World Cup campaign in Russia.
It has been a long road to recovery for the former Arsenal player but he did manage to return before the end of last season and made two appearances in Liverpool’s Premier League run, which saw them lose the title to Manchester City by a single point.
However, Jurgen Klopp has warned Oxlade-Chamberlain about pushing himself too hard to re-discover the form that saw Liverpool pay the Gunners £35million in the summer of 2017.
“He needs to be patient in the right way, and everything will be fine 100 per cent,” Klopp said.
“We only talk about Ox because everybody knows how good he is.
“We need to make sure that he can show that on the pitch as well.
“When I make the decision that he is now ready then it is my responsibility of course, and the boy only has to try to do his best. That’s what Ox obviously did.”
Oxlade-Chamberlain was an unused substitute in Liverpool’s 4-1 season opening win over Norwich, but then started for the Reds in their UEFA Super Cup game against Chelsea in Turkey a few days later.
Liverpool went on to win the game on penalties after it finished 2-2 after 90 minutes, but Oxlade-Chamberlain was taken off at half-time as he struggled to perform.
However, Klopp isn’t concerned about Oxlade-Chamberlain re-discovering his form.
“What did I say to Ox after the game in Istanbul? Nothing. It’s a completely normal situation,” Klopp added.
“He had a difficult game and we have a sensational offensive option on the bench, so I thought it made sense to use that. That was all, nothing else.”
Oxlade-Chamberlain was a second-half substitute in the Reds’ second Premier League game as they beat Southampton 2-1 at St Mary’s Stadium.
Liverpool currently sit at the top of the league with two wins from two and along with Arsenal are the only team to have maintained a winning streak at the beginning of the season.
However, this feat will come to an end for at least one of the clubs on Saturday, as the two sides will meet at Anfield, but as for Oxlade-Chamberlain’s involvement Klopp wants to be careful.
“With Ox, with patience in the right way, everything should be fine,” Klopp added.
