Jurgen Klopp has provided a fitness update about a few members of his squad ahead of Sunday’s fixture at Bournemouth, including Mohamed Salah who picked up an apparent hamstring issue on international duty.
Salah was forced off late in the first half of Egypt’s 2-2 draw with Ghana at AFCON, with the extent of the injury still unknown.
Klopp said: “We don’t know anything. I spoke last night with him and how it is with these injuries, you need further assessment. That’s what they are doing now and then we will know more. Of course, it was in that moment a shock.
“You have these kind of hamstring injuries in a different way but he still felt it and we all know how rarely Mo goes off or needs to go off so there is definitely something and we will see. But I have no more information right now.”
“BOBBY FIRMINO: BEST IN THE WORLD” DOCUMENTARY | EPISODE 1
The Liverpool boss also confirmed that he doesn’t expect any injured players to be back for the trip to Bournemouth on Sunday, with Dominik Szoboszlai set to miss out despite some midweek optimism he’d be fit.
The Hungarian has not featured for Liverpool since their 4-2 victory over Newcastle on New Years Day, in which he was forced off in the second half with a hamstring injury.
After the initial injury, Jurgen Klopp confirmed he would miss the cup games against both Arsenal and Fulham, however the midfielder is set to miss yet another game as he continues to regain fitness.
Speaking in his press conference today (Friday), Klopp said: “Dom is close. But the weekend game, no.”
‘IN THE SAME BREATH AS GERRARD’ – Liverpool Academy Coach On Trent Alexander-Arnold
Klopp also confirmed Trent Alexander-Arnold, Andy Robertson and Kostas Tsimikas are ‘closer and closer’ to full fitness, suggesting they may be fit to face Fulham next Wednesday; however, they have no chance for Bournemouth this weekend.
He added: “But after Bournemouth, maybe for Fulham, we will see how the boys do. But they are all close. Trent close, Dom close, Robbo close. All going in the right direction, that’s all positive, but for the weekend’s game, no.”
The Reds will have the chance to go five points clear at the top of the Premier League table on Sunday with a victory at the Vitaliy Stadium, with kick off at 4:30PM.
Redmen Reacts
One thing’s for certain, the last thing Liverpool need going into the second half of a title challenge is an injury to Mo Salah. Particularly when the injury occurs on international duty, it almost makes the blow harder to take. When he was taken off, we all feared the worst, but seeing him leave the stadium with a smile on his face does provide a sense of optimism regarding this one.
The positive thing is we weren’t expecting him back for a while anyway, so if the injury is only minor (fingers crossed), then hopefully he won’t miss any more games than initially expected. But it’s a case of waiting to see the damage with this one.
As for the others, it seems to be fairly positive news. Szoboszlai missing the trip to Bournemouth will be a blow, but with the likes of Trent and Robbo potentially being back as soon as next week, there’s a real sense of hope building that we could be back to a fully strength squad relatively soon.
