When Liverpool travel to West Ham United tomorrow for a rescheduled Premier League fixture, they’ll be without the services of winger Sadio Mane. The Senegalese superstar will also be out, due to a hamstring injury, when they host their de facto developmental squad Southampton FC (ha ha! just kidding!) on the weekend.
“Sadio will not be involved for West Ham and probably not for Southampton,” Jurgen Klopp told his news conference today ahead of the clash at the Hammers.
“After that he should be then fine. The week we have then after that is for him perfect to get back on track.”
“He has a small muscle tear, which is serious enough to keep him out. We were lucky with the injury as well, so it was not that serious. But of course, when you have three games in a week then that means he is out for these three games.”
Even if he were healthy, we would not see Mane next week in the FA Cup fourth round replay against Shrewsbury Town. Klopp has already made it known he will not play his first team in that match, and he himself won’t be there.
Much like the EFL Cup clash that coincided with the Reds’ trip to Qatar for the FIFA Club World Cup, Neil Critchley will manage the game, and they’ll field the U23s.
So the next time we’ll see Mane, it will come after the February PL break. Meanwhile Nathaniel Clyne remains a long term injury absentee.
Liverpool FC at West Ham United FYIs
January 29, 7:45 pm, London Stadium
Liverpool starting XI prediction: go to this link
Referee: Jonathan Moss, Assistant referees: Marc Perry, Constantine Hatzidakis
Fourth official: Graham Scott, VAR: Kevin Friend, Simon Beck.
Prediction: Liverpool 2, West Ham United 0
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, the author of “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry,” regularly appears on WGN CLTV and co-hosts the “Let’s Get Weird, Sports” podcast on SB Nation.
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