LIVERPOOL’s efforts to get Sadio Mane back from the Africa Cup of Nations has been hit by red tape as they sweat on his availability to face Chelsea on Tuesday.
The club had sent a private jet to Gabon following Senegal’s exit from the competition and expected him to be back on Merseyside on Monday evening.
However, issues with the flight have delayed the attacker’s arrival back home until this evening, forcing him to miss training today.
Liverpool have another session in the morning before their match at Anfield with Antonio Conte’s men and boss Jurgen Klopp will decide on how to use Mane.
When asked whether he would be available for the Premier League clash, Klopp said: “I don’t know exactly. The club did an outstanding job to bring him back as soon as possible and he is now on his way.
We thought it would be possible yesterday: we had a plane there but he was not allowed to go in the plane so we had to wait.
related articles
“He will be here tonight but I spoke to him and it is all good so far. He will be in tomorrow morning and we have to make a decision. We have to look in his eyes and see whatever is possible.”
Since Mane’s departure for the tournament at the beginning of the month, the Reds have won just once, and that came against League Two Plymouth in an FA Cup replay.
The 24-year-old’s return would offer the stuttering Kop boys a timely lift as they prepare to take on the league leaders.
Mane missed a crucial penalty as his side were defeated 5-4 in a quarter-final shoot-out against Cameroon.
And Klopp is not ready to put too much expectation on his side’s joint-top scorer after his misery at the weekend.
He added: “It was a strange situation in the Senegal game against Cameroon and I wish not for one second he missed the penalty at the end but it happened so he is coming back.
“He is a quality player. It is easier if you have him in the team or around the team than when you don’t have him. That’s fair. But it is not that he can decide games by himself or we should expect this.”
Leave a comment