Liverpool youngster Calvin Ramsay hopes that the end of his 17-month injury nightmare is nearing.

The 20-year-old from Aberdeen in a deal worth up to £6.5 million to serve as understudy right-back.

However, stress fractures in his back were identified in the medical and have troubled him since. On-loan Preston, Ramsay is closing on a return.

"I was gutted, to be honest. I was in a scanner for about two hours and got told I had two stress fractures and had to go back in," he would later state.

“I didn't even know it was there and I couldn't feel it. When they told me I thought: 'That can't be right'.

"I went back into the scanner and it showed the two stress fractures again. It made it even worse that I couldn't feel it because it felt like I was fine and could go out and train and play.

"I wanted to come here and just kick on, start training and hopefully play games, so it was a setback. I worked hard in the gym a lot so I could start training again as soon as possible.

“Now that I'm back and feeling good I need to keep working hard to try to get into the team. It won't be easy, but it's never going to be easy at a massive club like this."