Jurgen Klopp has indicated Mohamed Salah should return to the lineup for Liverpool’s clash with Napoli, but Joel Matip‘s comeback is still a way off.
Salah was involved in Saturday’s 2-1 win over Crystal Palace, but only as an unused substitute as he manages an ongoing ankle injury.
Having been forced out of Egypt duty due to the problem initially picked up against Leicester in October, he has remained in training but on a reduced schedule, in order to avoid worsening the issue.
But having been in the squad at Selhurst Park, he is expected back in the starting XI for a crucial tie in the Champions League.
And speaking on Tuesday afternoon, Klopp provided a positive update on the forward, with the manager “not worried” about Salah’s injury situation.
“[Mo is] really good, [he] looked really good in training yesterday especially, after the game,” he explained.
“Yesterday we didn’t do too much so we’ll see today, but I’m not worried about it.”
Matip, however, has been sidelined with a knee injury since the end of October, and has already insisted he won’t “put a time on it” as he works on his recovery.
The centre-back won’t be included on Wednesday night, with Dejan Lovren likely to start alongside Virgil van Dijk once again, and Klopp revealed Matip should undergo another scan in the near future.
“Joel is improving, but still of course some time away from the team,” he said.
“This week is an important one, we will build, we have to measure the improvement of the healing with a scan probably.
“And then we will see how it is. From that moment, we can make decisions.
“It’s nothing you can rush, you just have to wait, our body is like this from time to time. So nothing new really about him.”
There appears to be no new injury issues for Liverpool after the weekend, and Xherdan Shaqiri could be involved as he works his way towards match fitness after injury.
Klopp had already told the club’s official website that Naby Keita had suffered an illness at the weekend, but returned to training on Monday.
But Klopp is unlikely to make many changes to his regular ‘big game’ side, with victory ensuring the Reds finish top of Group E.
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