Jurgen Klopp on Liverpool's Injuries, Mohamed Salah's Wedding Trip & Unity

A severely depleted Liverpool side welcome Premier League leaders Leicester City to Anfield on Sunday to get their league campaign back underway.

Injuries and illnesses mean Jurgen Klopp will be without plenty of his usual starters for the game, and all eyes will be on his team sheet as a handful of academy stars could be in line to feature to help make up the numbers.

Here's what the boss had to say ahead of the game.


On Latest Injury Updates

Henderson picked up an injury with England | Soccrates Images/Getty Images

"We will see, [but] Jordan Henderson not and Trent [Alexander-Arnold] will not play, that’s clear. All the rest, we will see.

“[Thiago and Fabinho] are in a good way, Ox [is] in a good way. They are all closer but we will see if it is close enough for the weekend.”


On Mohamed Salah's COVID-19 Diagnosis

Salah is in isolation | Clive Brunskill/Getty Images

Egyptian forward Mohamed Salah will miss the game after testing positive for COVID-19 on the international break, with the results coming soon after he was spotted dancing at his brother's wedding without following social distancing guidelines.

"He is back today. When you have a negative test, the process really starts. We have nothing to say in public to be honest. A brother's wedding is a very special moment.

"I was in Germany in the summer. A friend moved his birthday party because of me. 50 people attended that and at the last minute I decided not to go. It was allowed in Germany at the time.

"My players are incredibly disciplined. They really know about the situation. Sometimes, it doesn't work out like this. The rest is between Mo and me - we have done that already. Things are fine."



On Joe Gomez's Surgery

Gomez will miss most of the season with a knee injury | Dean Mouhtaropoulos/Getty Images

“[It is] a tough one but the surgery was successful, so he is now already recovering first from the surgery and then starting the rehabilitation.

“He is with his family, so he is in the best possible place I would say. That’s it, pretty much. Rehab has started now. After surgery you count from that moment backwards and we help as much as we can, but for the first few days all of the boys after surgery probably feel pretty alone. But when you have your family around – and that’s the case for him – then it’s as good as possible, that’s it.”


On How Injuries Have Strengthened the Squad

Klopp believes Liverpool can rise to the challenge | Clive Brunskill/Getty Images

“We are a unit – a proper, proper unit – and the more problems we have, the closer we stick together. It was always like this and will always be like this at this club.

“We don’t go for excuses, we have the situation we have, we don’t like the injuries we have because it is really hard for the boys who have the injuries, but all the rest is working on solutions. That’s what we always do.

“We have solutions in our mind; maybe we think we have the worst situation possible, but the season is long and we have only played eight games, so there will be a lot of problems. I have always said, whoever deals best with the problems in front of them has a chance to be really successful. That’s what we try to be.”


On Coping During the Injury Crisis

“We're taking it by game by game. It doesn’t work in a different way because if you think about the next game before you play the game in front of you then you will have no chance in that game. It makes no sense, then you will have completely different problems a few days later. It is just game by game and that’ll never change.

“There’s no season when you have no problem with injuries, it is always the same, but in our situation it is slightly different that a lot of players in the same position have gotten injured – seriously injured – and that makes it tricky, of course.

“Nobody here feels at all any kind of self-pity or whatever; we don’t feel sorry for ourselves. It is the situation and in the moment when you get the information then it’s a moment when it hits you, but a minute later you are already in the solution process.

“We are very deep in that already, so now we have players available – and I’ve always said, as long as we can field 11 players then we will fight for the three points. We can and we will line up with 11 players, I can promise that at least for Sunday, and then we will fight with all we have.”


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Source : 90min