Jurgen Klopp moved to allay fears over Mohamed Salah’s left ankle problem saying his departure five minutes before the end of Premier League leaders Liverpool’s 2-1 win over Tottenham Hotspur was a precautionary measure.
The 27-year-old Egyptian star – who had missed the previous match with Manchester United due to the injury – scored the decisive goal to bring up his half century of goals at Anfield.
Salah, who reached the landmark in 58 matches with only Roger Hunt getting there faster, has a few days to rest up before Saturday’s away game at Aston Villa as he was highly unlikely to feature in Wednesday’s League Cup clash with Arsenal. “It’s the ankle, the ankle he has struggled with since the Leicester game,” said Klopp.
“It’s good but the longer the game goes the muscles get a bit tired, stuff like this, (and) if you get a knock on it then you feel it more. It makes no sense to try to push it through because we had other players, still options to change, and that’s what we did. No, nothing serious.”
Klopp, whose side maintained their six point lead over champions Manchester City, said conceding an early goal to the team they beat in last season’s Champions League final had helped concentrate their minds.
The German – who took Liverpool agonisingly close to their first Premier league title last term only to lose out to City by a point – was delighted in the manner in which his players had responded. “I am absolutely pleased, but to be honest, I expect it as well,” added Klopp.
“An early goal is obviously not the best thing that can happen, but sometimes it makes one thing clear: game on. The counter-press was exceptional, it was kind of back. I loved that, that was really good. I told the boys at half-time; ‘The only problem in this game so far is the result – apart from that, it’s good’.”
