Luis Diaz’s possible return to Liverpool’s matchday squad in time for this weekend’s clash against Luton Town will be ‘up to him’.
That’s according to manager Jurgen Klopp, who says the club will not rush the attacker’s return following his father’s kidnapping in Columbia.
Last weekend saw news break that Diaz’s father had been taken captive with more recent reports confirming members of the armed-terrorist group ELN were responsible.
However, the terrifying ordeal looks to be coming to an end after the BBC recently reported that a representative of the ELN has confirmed they will free Diaz’s father in the coming days.
And should this prove to be the case, Diaz, who has understandably been allowed time off, will return to his daily activities. The South American doesn’t have long before the Reds play relegation contenders Luton Town on Sunday though, and Klopp will allow Diaz to decide whether or not he wants to be included.
“If he feels right, he will be will us,” he said in his pre-match press conference, as quoted by talkSPORT.
“You can see he didn’t sleep a lot. The news from Colombia gives us a little bit of hope. I cannot say what we will do. It’s up to him, if he makes himself available or not.”
He added: “We will not force it. We are waiting together for good news.”
Sunday afternoon’s Premier League game at Kenilworth Road, which is scheduled to kick off at 4.30 p.m. (UK time), will be broadcast live on Sky Sports.