Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson has played down initial claims that his heel injury is "incurable," telling The Sunday Times he has "no fears" about making a recovery to play an important role for Jurgen Klopp.
Henderson, 25, was promoted to Anfield skipper in July by Brendan Rodgers following Steven Gerrard's departure to LA Galaxy but only returned to action in late November after aggravating a heel injury in August and then breaking his foot during training the following month.
The England international has consulted a number of medical experts including the Boston Red Sox, Royal Ballet and the Australian cricket team as his injury -- plantar fasciitis -- is similar to the problem suffered by dancers and fast bowlers.
Henderson told The Guardian last weekend that "there isn't a timescale, there isn't really a cure" regarding the condition, but has now clarified those remarks to suggest the injury will not be a career-long problem.
"I've no fears at all," he said. "I've seen 'incurable' written, I've seen that I'll be in pain for the rest of my career, which isn't true. I want to reassure everyone I don't have an 'incurable' condition, definitely not. It's been blown out of proportion."
Henderson played 77 minutes of Liverpool's Europa League stalemate at Sion on Thursday, and is confident having come through the game without pain.
"So many players told me they've have this and are OK," he said. "So I've just got to manage it until it either goes or ruptures, but I'm in a good place, I'm training every day and playing games and it's not really reacting. It's feeling good and I'm managing it well.
"I came off against Bournemouth because I couldn't put my foot down, then I broke my metatarsal [on the other foot] in training but being out longer gave the problem time to settle and meant I could do a few more things with helping it. Since I've come back, it's been much better than it was."
Henderson is eager to repay Klopp's faith after the former Borussia Dortmund coach took over from Brendan Rodgers while the midfielder was on the sidelines.
"He's been brilliant and made me feel very much part of it, very much at ease, even though I wasn't playing," he said. "I was watching and listening to him in team meetings and the dressing room, taking everything in, and now I'm involved in games it's even better.
"He's very passionate, very enthusiastic, and that transcends into the players. You see our performances, very high tempo whether with the ball or without, very energetic, passionate performances: the lads have taken to him.
"He eats, sleeps, breathes football and you see that. On the training pitch, tactical elements, the way he can change how we set up and see where the weaknesses are in the opposition ... in some games we've blown teams away. We just need to do it consistently."
On whether Liverpool are in the Premier League title race, he added: "We'll leave that for everyone else to decide. I think we can achieve anything, really. Anything we want to achieve. I think we've good enough players to do that. But it's early days."