Liverpool midfielder Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain has confessed it could take another two years before he is able to say he has fully recovered from his knee injury.
The England midfielder picked up the serious injury during the 2017/18 Champions League semi-final against Roma and was forced to sit out for nearly a year after undergoing surgery, but has now established himself as a regular part of Jurgen Klopp's side once more.
However, speaking as quoted by the Liverpool Echo, Oxlade-Chamberlain confessed he still has days when he battles with the injury and he expects to struggle for another two years.
He said: "It sort of changes with everyone, but the surgeon says that ballpark figure [of two years] because even when you are back fit, it takes time for the knee to get used to what you are doing again.
"Things have changed, my knee has been reconstructed but when they say two years they mean that's when you stop noticing that you have had a bad knee.
"I still have some days when I wake up and it's feeling a bit stiff or swollen but after training, it's alright. I expect to feel it for the next couple of years, but it will evolve until I don't feel it any more."
The 26-year-old has made eight appearances in all competitions for Liverpool, four of which have come as a starter, and Oxlade-Chamberlain admitted he has surprised even himself with his return to fitness.
"Does it feel like the injury happened to someone else? To an extent, yes. Because of where I was and where I am now, it is kind of mind-blowing to think I got back to this level when I couldn't walk, when everything was a massive chore," he added.
"Just trying to bend my knee again past 90 degrees and doing that for months...I was struggling. I couldn't bend my knee. I couldn't ride a bike, I couldn't get enough bend in my knee to sit on the toilet. When you can do things like that you feel so far away from playing football.
"Now, when I look back at that, it does seems like it happened to someone else, but it's amazing what the body can do if you stick with it and work hard enough. I
Source : 90min