Mane ends Liverpool injury fears after Klopp call
Sadio Mane has ended any fears he suffered an injury while playing for Senegal this weekend.
Rumours of a knock for the £30m flying winger circulated after he was substituted in the 66th minute of his nation’s 2-0 win over Namibia in Dakar on Saturday.
But the player is already back at Melwood this morning with no injury or fitness problems.
Reds boss Jurgen Klopp was so concerned about Mane’s situation that he phoned the player on Sunday afternoon to check his substitution was not injury-related, with the 24-year-old quickly able to put his manager’s concerns to rest.
Mane has been Liverpool’s star performer so far this season and was badly missed in the Reds’ worst showing of the campaign so far, the 2-0 debacle at Burnley.
His Senegal side won their sixth straight game in their African Nations qualification this weekend and are already through to the final stages of the competition which will start in January.
All Liverpool’s internationals appear to have emerged unscathed so far although Philippe Coutinho has a long journey ahead of him after taking the field for Brazil in Manaus in the early hours of Wednesday (UK time).
Liverpool have made special arrangements so the player - who featured as a substitute in Brazil’s 3-0 win over Ecuador in Quito last Thursday - can return to the UK by Thursday morning.
The intention is to give the 24-year-old as long as possible to recover from his exertions in the Amazonian rainforest and the 5,000-plus mile journey back to Merseyside ahead of the huge clash with champions Leicester at Anfield on Saturday evening.
Source: Liverpool Echo
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