Liverpool have been hit with another injury issue from the international break after their forward Sadio Mane reportedly broke his thumb while on duty with Senegal.
The former Southampton man had been preparing for his nation’s Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Sudan in Dakar when he suffered the injury to the thumb of his left hand and will miss tonight’s tie.
It’s expected he’ll miss Liverpool’s Premier League return against Huddersfield on Saturday, too.
This news will come as a blow to Jurgen Klopp, who also has the wellbeing of last year’s star man Mo Salah to fret over, the Egyptian limped off the field during his nation’s 4-1 win over Swaziland on Friday with a suspected hamstring injury.
Xherdan Shaqiri and Daniel Sturridge could be in line for starts if the first-choice pair can’t recover from their issues in time to feature.
The early release of central defensive linchpin Virgil van Dijk from his spell with the Netherlands will be a boost in the middle of this series of blows, although the public declaration of his international coach that he’s been “constantly injected” to allow him to manage the pain of an existing rib injury while keeping his place in the team isn’t such a positive development.
The Reds sit third from top of the Premier League after eight games played, level on points with the leaders but trailing Manchester City and Chelsea on goal difference. They visit the John Smith’s stadium in the late kick-off on Saturday afternoon.
