Manager Arne Slott has confirmed that Mohamed Salah will travel to the African Cup of Nations before December 15, but the Liverpool forward will still be available for the Premier League game against Brighton on Saturday, December 13.
With Salah set to represent Egypt in the competition, Slott admitted Liverpool must start preparing for a crucial period without one of their most high-profile players.
“That (deadline) is December 15th. As always, there’s the country, the officials and the club. There’s always a conversation about what’s best for all three of us,” Slott said.
“He’s not here so we have to find a way to play without him, that’s true.”
Salah started on the bench in Liverpool’s game against West Ham.
Ahead of his departure, Salah is expected to remain involved in Liverpool’s domestic campaign, with the Reds’ game against Sunderland on Wednesday night live on Sky Sports.
Slott also addressed Salah’s reaction after he was substituted on the bench for Liverpool’s game against West Ham on Sunday, an unusual decision for a player of his caliber.
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Liverpool manager Arne Slott praised the professionalism of Mo Salah, who was on the bench against West Ham.
“For a player good enough to play for us, that was a normal reaction. And I put it mildly because he has been very outstanding at this club and will continue to be so in the future,” Slott said. “He wasn’t happy about not starting, but he wasn’t the only one.”
Despite that disappointment, Slott praised how Salah conducted himself within the team.
“But the way he conducted himself was as you would expect from such a professional. He supported his teammates and handled himself very well,” he added.
Slott also highlighted Salah’s discipline and mentality, regardless of the selection.
“He’s not going to be a player who has to play at a high standard every three days, but he’s very disciplined and knows what to do to stay healthy. Whether he plays well or not, whether he plays or not, he will always be a top professional.”
Salah should play against Sunderland but Liverpool have no backup
Sky Sports’ Jamie Carragher on the overlap:
“This season I have criticized Mo Salah off the pitch. He has received too much criticism on the pitch as well. He is not going to get much better because the team is not playing well.”
“He’s in his early 30s, but this is the first season in which he hasn’t been this great. Even when Liverpool have had poor seasons over the past seven or eight years, Salah has still scored 30 goals. This is the first time he’s had a poor start to the season.”
“If you look at Liverpool’s set-up at West Ham, they were basically playing without a right-winger because there was no player behind him to replace him. The set-up of that team, yes they won, but that’s not the template for Liverpool to move forward as a proper team.”
“It’s great to have Joe Gomez back, but he’s not an outstanding full-back and we don’t have any wingers in front of him, so he had to become almost a right-winger. It wasn’t about progress going forward, it was about having a job on Sunday. I think Salah will be back against Sunderland.”
“I have some thoughts about Salah playing away. It would be extremely wise to take him out, especially in away games in Europe, maybe away to Inter Milan in the Champions League. I would like to keep him in against Leeds, but he doesn’t play every week.
“But it goes back to the composition of the team, where there are no players to cover the wide players. Kodi Gakpo has to play every game, Salah has to play too, because there is no one behind him.”
Slot: Question marks over Wirtz, Gomez, Isak’s fitness
Slott said Liverpool’s squad news for the game against Sunderland would depend on how several players complete training, with Florian Wirtz, Joe Gomez and Alexander Isak all set to be assessed before the match following recent fitness concerns.
“Let’s see how the players feel after today’s practice. Wirtz has missed almost two weeks of practice, so it’s good for him to get some playing time, but we’ll see. Same goes for Joe Gomez,” he said.
“It was encouraging to see Wirts play so well. It might be a first for others, but I’ve seen him play very well for us. It was great for Alex (Isak) to score the first goal, but he told me he was feeling a bit cramped, so he couldn’t play any further. So it’s another player to see how he plays in training today.”
Arne Slott speaks to Alexander Isaac
“They won’t be able to play the full 90 minutes a week, but barring injuries, all three of them can play.”
