Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp addressed the media on Friday and offered fitness updates on key individuals ahead of their encounter with Crystal Palace.
The Merseyside giants face a trip to Selhurst Park on Saturday as they look to protect their eight-point lead at the top of the Premier League table.
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In order to have the best possible chance of doing so, Klopp would have hoped to have had as close to a full-strength squad available as possible, but it appears as though the German tactician will go into the encounter with a few doubts.
Mohamed Salah and Andy Robertson were ruled out over the international break due to ankle knocks, while Virgil van Dijk withdrew from duty due to personal reasons earlier in the week too.
In turn, there are question marks hanging over a number of players heading into the weekend, and while Klopp confirmed that the Dutchman would be ready to face Palace, he has conceded that he’ll have to make late decisions on others as he needs to see them come through training on Friday before making a call.
“In the moment, yes, Virgil is 100 per cent available,” he is quoted as saying by the club’s official site. “From the others, I cannot say 100 per cent, I don’t know 100 per cent. Today is a very important session to judge that, especially with the players who came back late.
“Yesterday he [Salah] trained. He trained the whole time since he was here, but only the things we wanted him to do.
“Today is another important session to see how it looks and we can make the decision. It’s not that it got worse but it’s still kind of there, that’s the problem. We have to be sensible with things like this.
“But I didn’t make the decision. If I would have made a decision, I probably wouldn’t have told you now, but it’s true I have to see the session today.”
Time will tell what Klopp and the Liverpool medical staff decide, but ultimately he’ll also be wary of avoiding any unnecessary risks too with his side’s hectic fixture list between now and the end of the year in mind.
As they look to compete on multiple fronts and win trophies, the Reds boss will know the importance of avoiding long-term layoffs and having a full squad to choose from. In turn, he may well decide to avoid any risks this weekend with the strength in depth he has potentially still enough to get the right result as far as they’re concerned.
