Johnson returns to Liverpool squad

Liverpool are set to welcome full-back Glen Johnson back into their squad for Sunday’s Premier League showdown with Swansea City.

The England international has missed the past month due to an ankle injury sustained in the 2-2 draw at home to Aston Villa, with manager Brendan Rodgers saying at the time that Johnson would miss an “indefinite” amount of time.

But Johnson is in contention to feature against Garry Monk’s men at Anfield this weekend.

“Glen has been back training,” Rodgers said.

“According to him, he has felt as good as he has done for a long time – which is great. He has looked very good in training and he’ll come into the squad.”

Midfielder Lucas Leiva and centre-back Mamadou Sakho are also nearing returns from knee and hamstring injuries respectively, but Jose Enrique has travelled to America in order to get specialist advice on his knee complaint.

Rodgers added: “Lucas Leiva is recovering very well but not in the squad.

“Sakho is still probably a week or so away, but he’s back on the field now with the rehabilitation team and working well.

“Jose Enrique has been out in America. We’re looking to try to put an end to his injuries this season.

“We have sent him out to get some specialist advice on that. But he’s nowhere near playing yet.”

Liverpool’s January transfer target Yevhen Konoplyanka scored the winning goal in Dnipro’s 1-0 victory over Tottenham in the UEFA Europa League on Thursday.

Rodgers was asked whether he would renew his interest in the winger in the close-season, but the Liverpool boss kept his cards close to his chest.

“We’ve got lots of people that were looking at,” he continued.

“We’ll assess where we are at the end of the season and take it from there.”

Liverpool, meanwhile, have confirmed they will face Milan in Charlotte, North Carolina, in the International Champions Cup later this year.

The match will take place in August at the Bank of America Stadium, home to NFL side the Carolina Panthers, with the likes of Manchester City, Real Madrid and Manchester United all involved in the pre-season tournament.

Patrick Cannon, Mayor of Charlotte, was thrilled with the announcement, saying: “I’m so excited to announce the 2014 Guinness International Champions Cup is officially coming to the city of Charlotte.

“Liverpool FC has a history of bringing great economic benefit when they travel to other countries. In 2012 their visit to Boston helped generate nearly 9.4 million dollars in visitor spending in the Boston region.

“That was more than seven times greater than that of a regular season Red Sox home game. So we are honoured to host one of the 13 match-ups with Liverpool taking on AC Milan.”

Liverpool’s chief commercial officer Billy Hogan added: “We have hundreds of millions of fans around the world, from the US to Asia, and over 21 millions fans here in the US, so it’s a great opportunity for us to bring the club here.”