Klopp Talk: “Mo is a very important player for me”
The gaffer also provided updates on injuries ahead of Sunday’s game against West Brom.
In his pre-match press conference ahead of Sunday’s game against Sam Allardyce’s West Brom, Jurgen Klopp offered updates on injuries to players such as Thiago Alcantara and Xherdan Shaqiri.
The former is still on the road to recovery, as Klopp clarified, saying, “Thiago made his first steps back towards team training. He is not involved in the full session but makes good steps and after, unfortunately, the long time he is out now, we cannot and will not rush it.
“He will not be involved, he has to first be in full training sessions and then we start thinking about it. He is not too far away, I hope.”
Others look more promising however.
“Shaq trained really good and Millie, yesterday full session, today then a little bit adapted,” said Klopp.
“It is a new situation for us; we have still two more training days until we have to make decisions. It looks good, but I don’t know.”
He also offered a response to questions about the alleged friction with Mohamed Salah, who had expressed dissatisfaction at not being captained for the game against FC Midtjylland in a recent interview with AS.
Klopp said, “When I realised it didn’t work out that well, I clarified it. If [all the captains] cannot play, then it’s usually the player who is longest at the club. He [Salah] was disappointed, but I didn’t do it on purpose.”
He also highlighted Salah’s key role in the squad and brushed away any speculation that an exit is imminent for him, saying, “Mo’s motivation level is really, really high. He keeps himself in an incredible shape and works really hard around the sessions. He is first in, last out.
“When Mo answered the question is was just that these clubs may be interested and he didn’t rule it out.
“I’m different if you ask me about it. But if you ask any player around the world who is not playing for Barcelona or Real Madrid can you imagine playing for one of these one day and he would say: ‘No, not for them’.
“Why should he say that? The only thing [Mo] said was ‘we will see’ and about Liverpool, it’s in the club’s hands.
“Maybe true, maybe not true. It’s true 100 percent but it’s about talks about the future, but it’s really all fine.
“Mo is a very important player for me. But the story around him isn’t.”
Source: liverpooloffside.sbnation.com
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