Monday 25 July 2016 18:58, UK
Jordan Henderson says he is heading into the new Premier League season in the best condition he has been in for a long time.
A combination of a long-standing heel problem and a knee ligament injury restricted Henderson to just 15 Premier League starts last season.
The England midfielder made one appearance at Euro 2016, but has had no issues since returning to pre-season training with Liverpool.
"My foot is feeling good to be honest," Henderson told LFC TV.
"I was injured for most of the season last year but over the course of the summer I trained with England and played in one game in the Championships and afterwards did some of my own stuff and I've come in [to pre-season] and I feel very good.
"I feel probably the best I've felt in a long time so hopefully that will continue and I'll have a good pre-season and it will get even better.
"For me personally, last season was definitely [my hardest]. It was just purely down to injuries and the type of injuries I had. They were ones I tried to play through and maybe sometimes I shouldn't have. Overall, it was a very disappointing season for me."
Liverpool face Chelsea in the International Champions Cup in California on Thursday, having won their opening four pre-season matches.
Jurgen Klopp has signed six players so far this summer - Sadio Mane, Loris Karius, Joel Matip, Ragnar Klavan, Georginio Wijnaldum and Alex Manninger - and Henderson has been impressed by the new faces.
"We've only been training a couple of days but they look great additions to the squad and will make us much stronger," he added.
"We have a big squad now, so if there are any injuries there's someone ready to come straight into that position and everyone will be fighting to get into the starting XI.
"We have a really good squad and we'll need everyone together if we are to do something special this season.
"I feel we're going in the right direction with the team and manager we've got, we can definitely do something great this year. We have to focus on ourselves, while there have been a lot of changes at other clubs, but I'm very confident we can do well this season."
Henderson scored two goals and provided three assists in the league last season as injuries interrupted his campaign, and the midfielder has admitted he needs to get back on the pitch and prove himself to the manager.
"I always say a new season is my biggest season, it's the same every year for me," he continued. "That goes for everyone really, the club, me personally, it's a massive season for everyone and I feel I need to get back and prove myself again but I look forward to doing that.
"As a midfielder you need to score and assist goals but in terms of a target, it's hard to set one specifically.
"It depends on the way we play and what position you play, but for me, the main thing is to make sure I'm contributing to the team when I'm playing, whether that's goals, assists or defensively, to help us win."
The only place to watch all of Liverpool FC's pre-season games is LFCTV: www.liverpoolfc.com/watch
