Klopp Leaves Door Open For Sadio Mane Inclusion

Despite the broken thumb, Klopp would not rule out Mane for Premier League or Champions League fixtures.

There are “injuries” and then there are injuries and then there are injuries. While Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk picked up injuries during the last international break, they both seem set to start this afternoon when Premier League hostilities renew at Huddersfield Town. As such, these appear to be more in the “injuries” category.

Then, of course, there’s Naby Keita, who appears to be out for the next several weeks with a hamstring injury.

And finally, there’s Sadio Mane. When the x-ray of his broken thumb circulated across Twitter, it seemed to definitely be an injury. But Jurgen Klopp is not so sure.

“I really don’t know yet. We have to see,” Kloppo said yesterday at the pre-match press conference.

“Three days ago, Sadio came home, it was diagnosed. At the moment I have no clue what he can do with the brace on.

“We will see what he wants to do. It’s all about the player. If he thinks he can play then I need to make a decision about how it looks.”

While thumbs are not the most important body part for non-goalkeeper footballers, it would certainly not be terribly comfortable running around with a brace on his hand. And of course, any contact could easily re-injure the hand and set back Mane’s recovery.

Regardless, Klopp has not ruled him out for today’s game, as unlikely as an inclusion as it would seem. If Mane proves himself as an able contributor during practice, he might just find himself in the matchday squad.

Ideally, even if Mane makes the bench, he won’t need to be brought on. It would be nice if the lads could take care of Huddersfield without him.

Source: liverpooloffside.sbnation.com