Fabinho responds to Jurgen Klopp fitness update for Champions League final

Liverpool midfielder Fabinho has backed up his manager Jurgen Klopp's claim that he will be at his "physical peak" in time for the Champions League final.

The Brazilian was forced off in the first half of the Reds' 2-1 victory at Aston Villa last week with a slight hamstring injury, a blow which forced him to miss both the FA Cup final win over Chelsea and Tuesday's 2-1 success at Southampton which has taken the Premier League title race down to the final day.

It remains to be seen whether or not the former Monaco man will be risked for Sunday's visit of Wolverhampton Wanderers, but Klopp has been optimistic he'll be back in time to face Real in Paris on May 28.

Klopp described Fabinho as "progressing very well" prior to the Southampton win, but speaking to Spanish outlet AS, Fabinho seemed to go further than that.

"Yes, I will be there... to play," said the Brazil international.

"We are working and recovering to be ready for that final. I'm very calm and very confident that I'll be there, so I have to keep working and resting to be at my physical peak for May 28."

The Reds snapped up Fabinho just hours after they lost the Champions League final to Real Madrid in Kyiv in 2018, with the defensive midfielder going on to be a crucial part of the side that beat Tottenham in the Madrid final 12 months later.

He has since gone on to be a vital cog in Klopp's Liverpool machine, and in Paris he will be taking on one of his former employers having joined Real's youth setup in 2013.

Fabinho would make just one appearance for the Real Madrid first-team, but he says he knows all about the quality of the Spanish giants, who have staged epic comebacks against Paris Saint-Germain, Chelsea and Manchester City to reach the final.

"Yes, I have followed them, especially their last three games," continued Fabinho. "As they didn't play on the same day as us I watched the games.

"They are a team used to playing in the Champions League and when they say that Madrid have 'something different' in the Champions League you can see that it's true.

"In the last three games they have won in a similar way, scoring two or more goals in a very short period of time, and I think Madrid deserve to be in the final too. They have had a very good year. Let's see what happens on the 28th, let's hope we win."