Liverpool manager, Jurgen Klopp has confirmed that the duo of Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk may not be fit enough to face Southampton in Tuesday’s Premier League clash.
Both players were taken off during the FA Cup final win over Chelsea on Saturday.
Klopp, speaking after the match, said Salah and Van Dijk are “kind of OK”.
Salah limped off in the 33rd minute with a groin strain, while Van Dijk failed to appear for extra-time due to a muscle problem.
Both players walked onto the pitch at the end of the game to celebrate the victory.
Although Klopp said that Salah and Van Dijk are unlikely to play against Southampton at St Mary’s on Tuesday, he was more optimistic about the full extent of their injuries.
“I think [Salah, Van Dijk] are kind of OK,” Klopp told ESPN’s Alexis Nunes.
“I don’t think they will be ready for Tuesday, to be honest… I don’t think they would have been ready for Tuesday anyway!
“But I think they are alright, it was more of a precaution. Mo felt something, said I could carry on and I had to make a decision, I said no… if you’re feeling something on the pitch, it’s not going to get better [if you keep playing], staying on is not the best treatment!
“With Virgil it was more clear: 90 minutes yes, 120 minutes no.
“But what a situation, you bring on Joel Matip! Oh my god! That’s really cool. So, all fine.”
Outside football
Salah has a sponsorship deal with sportswear and equipment supplier Adidas: he wears Adidas X18 football boots. He appeared in an Adidas 2018 World Cup commercial along with other players in the Adidas stable, including David Beckham, Lionel Messi and Paul Pogba, and singer Pharrell Williams.
In March 2018, Salah appeared in an advertisement for Vodafone Egypt. Filmed visiting several Merseyside landmarks, the video was originally released in Arabic (but was also translated to English). A month later, he mentioned that he was “insulted” after his image was displayed across the national team’s plane without his permission before the start of the World Cup that year, as the official sponsor of the national team, WE, is a rival of his sponsor.
