Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has provided two pieces of good news regarding his squad ahead of their return to Europa League action.
The big news is obviously Mohamed Salah’s return to the Reds fold as he travelled with the Anfield contingent to Czechia on Wednesday.
Liverpool face Sparta Prague in the first leg of their Europa league last-16 tie, the game kicking off at 5:45pm UK time.
As well as Salah, Dominik Szoboszlai is back in the fold, and Klopp seemed relaxed about the prospect of the Hungary international featuring – maybe even starting – on Thursday.
The 22-year-old has missed a number of games due to a hamstring injury, but returned to action in Saturday’s last-gasp Premier League win over Nottingham Forest.
Liverpool star Dominik Szoboszlai finds spells on sidelines ‘tough’
Szoboszlai came off the bench for Liverpool, and at Wednesday’s pre-match presser, Klopp was asked about the midfielder’s match readiness for Thursday.
Admittedly, the Reds boss was tight-lipped over whether Szoboszlai – or indeed Salah – would start, but he’s certainly pleased about their availability.
“It is good that he is back,” the Liverpool boss told the Reds media team. “He loves playing football. Being injured is for him tough, tough, tough.
“It was not an injury where it was painful every day or whatever, he was just not allowed to train properly, how it is with muscle injuries.
“So, that’s the reason why we had to be careful in his rehab, because if you would have asked Dom, he could have trained completely with the team for two or three weeks, but all the medical advice told us no, we have to wait. And that’s what we did.
“Now he is back, played a few minutes, is in the squad. All the rest, we will see.”
Szoboszlai is a truly ‘unbelievable‘ player who has enjoyed a wonderful maiden season at Anfield, and it’s good to hear that he’s seemingly fully fit and raring to go.
With Liverpool now entering the business end of the season, and fighting on so many fronts at that, having their key stars back is absolutely crucial.
