Jurgen Klopp made rude remarks about Mohamed Salah ahead of the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) trip to Egypt.
Liverpool have had an unexpectedly good start to the season and now sit nearly three points clear of nearest Premier League rivals Aston Villa. Of course, much of Liverpool’s form hinged on Salah’s performance.
The Inter midfielder has scored 14 goals and provided 8 assists in 20 Premier League games.
However, Reds will be without Salah and midfielder Wataru Endo for a number of important games, starting with this month’s FA Cup tie with Arsenal.
Salah’s Egypt are preparing for AFCON group stage matches against Mozambique, Ghana and Cape Verde, with the talismanic forward set to remain on national duty for at least the next two-and-a-half weeks.
However, if Egypt reach the final like they did two years ago, Salah may not leave Liverpool until at least February 17.
With Japan set to progress to the Asian Cup finals next month and Endo ruled out until then, Klopp wished his players the best of luck ahead of their respective tournaments.
The German admitted: “I told them it would be a lie if I wished them luck.”I wish they were eliminated in the group stage, but that’s impossible. “We wish them the best of luck and hope they come back healthy.
“I’m sure we’ll find a way to replace them, but we have to show.”Klopp will have to reshuffle his squad to find a replacement for right-back Salah when Arsenal travel to Anfield this weekend.
He said: “I think we played against West Ham with Harvey (Elliot) and we have different defensive options. Other players can play on the wing, but not like Mo. “We use the guys and their skills and that’s the idea behind it.
Want to play without? Not. But we will find a way. “Of course we could play Arsenal and lose without Mo Salah, but now we have a chance to win the game so we will think about it.”
