Mohamed Salah reacts after losing the AFCON final.© AFP
Mohamed Salah could play for Liverpool against Leicester on Thursday after his heartbreak at the Africa Cup of Nations, but Sadio Mane will not be available after his return to Senegal to celebrate his team’s victory. Senegal defeated Egypt on penalties after Sunday’s final in the Cameroonian capital Yaounde ended goalless, with Mane scoring the decisive goal in a game that pitted Liverpool’s two stars against each other. Salah returned to Liverpool’s training center on Tuesday and will be assessed by the medical staff ahead of the mid-table match against Leicester.
“Mo is back now, I have already spoken to him,” Klopp told Liverpoolfc.com. “Obviously he is very disappointed, but is looking forward to all the things that are coming here now.
“I spoke to him and the first thing Mo told me was, ‘I’m ready’.
“He’s an experienced player, he’s a physical monster, to be honest, so we have to see. Of course he will have a little recovery session today and we’ll see how he feels tomorrow and from there we go.”
“The right plan we don’t have, playing him as often and as long as possible is probably the plan, but we won’t rush it. But if he’s okay, we won’t disregard him for the wrong reasons either, so let’s see.”
Klopp, whose side are second in the Premier League, said Mane was expected to return to Liverpool on Thursday, so would not be involved in the Leicester game.
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“It (the cup win) means the world to him, it means the world to his people, it means the world to Senegal and we respect that immensely and we would never consider calling him back from there or anything – let them do what they’re doing at the time because they deserve it,” he said.
“They’ve had an incredibly intense time, so when he gets back, we’ll talk to him and see how we can use him.”
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