Daniel Sturridge came through his first full training session with his Liverpool teammates without any issues on Wednesday as he nears his long-awaited return.
The England international has been crippled by ongoing injuries throughout the last 18 months and hasn't featured for Jürgen Klopp's side since December 6 after picking up a hamstring injury.
But in what is a massive boost to the Reds, whose 2-0 loss to Leicester City on Tuesday night left them 11 points of of the top-four and saw them go over five hours without a goal in all competitions, Sturridge stepped up his recovery as he emerged unscathed from training.
The 26-year-old has undergone a personalised training regime in the last few weeks with Klopp insisting he would not be back in training until he completed a succession of sessions alone.
Sturridge now appears to be closing in on a return as he trained with those who didn't start from the off in the recent loss to Leicester at the King Power Stadium, with those who played instead recovering prior to Saturday afternoon's league clash with Sunderland.
Reds desperate for prolific frontman to return
Klopp will be keen to ensure his medical team keep a watchful eye over the striker's progress, with his Liverpool team in desperate need of goals and the player's incredibly poor injury record in the past two seasons.
Despite his prolific record, with Sturridge having hit 44 goals in 73 appearances in all competitions, has suffered as many as 12 separate injuries since February 2013 - only a month after he first moved to Merseyside.
Those problems have seen him miss 82 games since his £12 million switch from Premier League rivals Chelsea, having only made six appearances in all competitions this term - although he's scored four goals.
Klopp to welcome back several first-team players over next few days
He's a huge doubt to be involved in this weekend's game against Sunderland, whilst he's unlikely to be in contention for their FA Cup fourth round replay at West Ham United next week either.
However, provided he suffers no setbacks, Sturridge could aim for a return for his team's trip to struggling Aston Villa on February 14.
With a busy month ahead, the return of Sturridge - with Philippe Coutinho and Divock Origi also returning to training on Thursday and Martin Skrtel back at Melwood next week, will be more than welcome.
The Reds again face another busy month in February, with their Europa League campaign resuming in the form of a two-legged tie with Augsburg, whilst they face several key Premier League ties, that FA Cup replay and the Capital One Cup final with Manchester City at Wembley Stadium on the 28th.