Jurgen Klopp has revealed the availability of Liverpool star Mohamed Salah for Wednesday’s Premier League clash against Chelsea. The 31-year-old has been absent for the last few weeks due to participation at the Africa Cup of Nations with Egypt; however, their elimination would have seen him return early from international duty had he not already been back in Merseyside.
During Egypt’s group-stage clash against Ghana, Salah was withdrawn because of a hamstring injury; it was later announced that he could miss up to four weeks of action and his rehabilitation would be completed back in England. Given the severity of the issue, Salah playing any sort of part in the upcoming clash against Chelsea at Anfield seemed unlikely, and Klopp has now confirmed that.
He said: “He’s not ready for this game, not ready for the next game [against Arsenal]… and then not. So he’s injured. I’m not sure if there was a misunderstanding in the beginning. He’s injured and a muscle injury takes time.
It could have been much worse, but he’s not available at the moment. He’s just doing his rehab.” While that is a blow for the current Premier League leaders, the attackers Klopp still has at his disposal will be out to prove a point, especially following his bombshell announcement.
Last Friday, Klopp revealed he would be departing the club at the end of the 2023/24 season with a domestic treble, perhaps the best leaving gift Liverpool could give to their manager. The Reds took a number of huge steps closer to that last week after beating Fulham on aggregate to qualify for the Carabao Cup final, where they will face Chelsea, while also securing a spot in the FA Cup fifth round after knocking out Norwich.
In that game, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Dominik Szoboszlai and Andy Robertson all returned from injury, with the trio now pushing for a start against Chelsea as a result. Alexis Mac Allister was one player missing from the 5-2 cup victory; however, Klopp has confirmed he trained ahead of the game and is therefore available, while also revealing a huge training return.
Macca trained yesterday so should be fine,” he said. “Thiago trained which was an incredible moment after all these months. And to train at the level he does. But he needs time. There was no pressure on him other than wanting to get fit as quickly as possible anyway. We don’t rush. If you could rush the healing process, Thiago wouldn’t be out for 10 months.”
