Jurgen Klopp has eased the fears of Liverpool supporters by revealing midfielder Alexis Mac Allister’s knee injury is nothing serious.
The Argentine World Cup winner was withdrawn during Liverpool’s 4-3 pre-season defeat to Bayern Munich in Singapore and first viewings suggested the 24-year-old may have suffered significant knee damage.
However, Klopp played down any fears, even admitting Mac Allister could have carried on if he wanted to.
“Knee on knee, he could have played on,” Klopp told reporters post match.
“So firstly I got the information that it’s too painful, so that was then clear that we will change. There’s no need to push him through.
“When I spoke afterwards, he said, ‘No, no, I would have been fine.’ But we didn’t want to go [with] any risks. It’s just knee on knee, bruise, that’s it. It was fine.”
Klopp admitted after a taxing schedule in the sweltering heat of Singapore his Liverpool players suffered mental lapses in concentration, as the Reds concluded their trip to Southeast Asia with defeat.
“Around the goals we were not that great,” Klopp reflected.
“There were a lot of other moments that were really, really good.
“We still have to adjust. The first goal we conceded, Trent and Joel have to react better.
“But we can’t always be there and block all balls. Sometimes balls will fly towards our last line. There was just a little doubt in between.
“We felt the intensity properly then and like humans are, you need a rest and then the ball was there.
“When you are really tired the thing you hate the most is that there are no breaks.
“A part from that, like I said, I saw a lot of good individual performances. It was really encouraging, really positive.”
