Jurgen Klopp was non-committal when asked about the injury status of three Liverpool players ahead of the Premier League clash against Nottingham Forest on Saturday.
The Reds are currently having to make do without numerous first-team stalwarts, with several youngsters coming to the fore in the Carabao Cup final and FA Cup this week.
It had initially been hoped that Mo Salah, Darwin Nunez and Dominik Szoboszlai would return against Southampton last night (Evening Standard), but none of that trio were in the matchday squad.
When asked after the match at Anfield whether those three players would be fit for Saturday, Klopp simply replied (via liverpoolfc.com): “I don’t know.”
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With precious little time between matches, Klopp is having to manage the recoveries of Liverpool’s injured players very carefully.
Young talents like Lewis Koumas and Jayden Danns have made the most of the opportunities handed to them in cup matches in recent days, but whether they’ll be entrusted to start in the Premier League at this embryonic stage in their careers is another matter.
We may see Salah, Nunez and Szoboszlai on the bench initially against Forest if they’re not quite ready for prolonged involvement, although the five-day gap to the visit to Sparta Prague allows a greater window for them to build up their fitness and be good to go.
Klopp will inevitably be asked for an update on the trio, and the other injured Liverpool players, in his pre-match press conference on Friday, when hopefully we might get a clearer picture as to their chances of returning to action at the City Ground this coming weekend.
Alas, it’s likelier that we only get a definitive answer when the team sheet is announced 60 minutes before kick-off on Saturday, so keep the fingers crossed until then.
It’s evident that they can’t say the truth because of FPL, klopp is clearly saving them for that big city game especially Salah.