Jurgen Klopp has confirmed when Liverpool will lose both Mohamed Salah and Wataru Endo, with the pair set to head to mid-season international tournaments.
Due to the multi-cultural squad put together by Klopp at Liverpool, it has often been the case that key players miss fixtures around the turn of the year.
That has largely come due to the Africa Cup of Nations, with Salah, Sadio Mane and Naby Keita all absent in recent seasons for the tournament.
But this year that is added to by the Asian Cup, as summer signing Endo is captain of Japan.
It had been hoped that Endo and Salah, who will also captain Egypt as they head to the Ivory Coast for AFCON, would be available for the FA Cup third-round clash with Arsenal on January 7.
Klopp has, however, confirmed that the pair are expected to depart directly after the visit of Newcastle in the Premier League on New Year’s Day.
The manager updated reporters, including the Guardian‘s Andy Hunter, in his extended pre-match press conference on Friday.
With AFCON running from January 13 to February 11 and the Asian Cup from January 12 to February 10, Liverpool could be without Salah and Endo for a lengthy period.
At the very least they will miss the following four fixtures:
- Arsenal (A) – FA Cup third round – January 7
- Fulham (H) – Carabao Cup semi-final – January 10
- Bournemouth (A) – Premier League – January 21
- Fulham (A) – Carabao Cup semi-final – January 24
If they go all the way and reach their respective finals, though, they would be absent for another four games including a potential fourth-round tie in the FA Cup.
That would also rule them out of Chelsea (H, Jan 31), Arsenal (A, Feb 4) and Burnley (H, Feb 10), with a likely return fixture against Brentford (A, Feb 17).
As it stands, Liverpool are guaranteed to be without their top goalscorer and a vital member of the midfield for at least four fixtures.
Given the injury situation within Klopp’s squad, with Diogo Jota and Alexis Mac Allister not yet fit, Andy Robertson still not in contact training and Joel Matip, Thiago, Ben Doak and Stefan Bajcetic all long-term absentees, it is far from ideal.
The hope will be that Mac Allister and Jota are both back in time for the FA Cup clash at Arsenal, while the manager has already given a hint at his plan without Salah.
Harvey Elliott started on the right wing for the 5-1 victory over West Ham in the Carabao Cup quarter-finals, while Dominik Szoboszlai is another option.
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