Mohamed Salah, Darwin Nunez and Dominik Szoboszlai are still doubts for tomorrow’s fifth round FA Cup tie with Southampton according to Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp.
All three were absent for Liverpool’s last-gasp Carabao Cup final win against Chelsea at Wembley.
Liverpool relied on their youthful bench due to the amount of casualties in the camp, but the youngsters displayed some mature performances as Liverpool went on to lift the trophy.
Klopp confirmed some players need miracles if they are to take part at Anfield on Wednesday.
“We need miracles with a few players, that’s why I do not want to rule out for too long but it is touch-and-go for the boys who were not available for the final. Darwin, Mo, Dom, we have to see what they can do today”, said the Liverpool boss.
“What I know is that Ryan is not available. It’s a ligament injury, could’ve been much worse but bad enough for being ruled out for this game, the next game,” added Klopp. “We’ll see.”
“Wataru got a proper knock as well, yeah we have to see as well. I wouldn’t say it’s much improved from Sunday but that’s how it is.”
It is a fairly quick turnaround from Sunday’s cup win, as Liverpool continue to eye a potential quadruple. The adrenaline from the cup triumph may still be flowing through the player’s bodies, but Liverpool have another task at hand in a different competition.
Klopp made it clear he is unsure how he will line-up his side against Southampton.
“We still have two and a half hours until we have the [pre-match] meeting and then we train after that, so three hours. When the players arrive then they get checked, yesterday was a massive recovery day and an appreciation day for winning the League Cup”, said Klopp.
“Only the very young boys trained yesterday, all of the others recovered.
“Today we have a session, the only one before the game. When I get all the information and when the player arrive here and I look in their eyes and I can see who might be ready and who is not ready, then I can make a line-up. In the end, I hope – and I’m pretty positive about that – it will be a decent line-up.”
