Luis Diaz travels with Liverpool for Europa League game amid claims that Colombian’s kidnapped father could be released ‘soon’

The Colombia international saw his father, Luis Manuel Diaz, taken by the left-wing National Liberation Army (ELN) group on October 28.

His mother was also involved in that ordeal, but she has since been rescued.

The ELN has promised to let Diaz senior go, but a long-running dispute with the Colombian government is delaying proceedings.

Diaz’s family have requested proof that Luis Manuel is still alive, with local government continuing with a “liberation operation” that they hope will deliver a positive outcome “soon”.

The ELN has stated: "On November 2, we informed the country of the decision to release Mr Luis Manuel Diaz, father of the player Luis Diaz.

“From that date, we began the process to accomplish this as soon as possible. We are making efforts to avoid incidents with government forces. The area is still militarised, they are carrying out flyovers, disembarking troops, broadcasting and offering rewards as part of an intense search operation.

“This situation is not allowing for the execution of the release plan quickly and safely, where Mr Luis Manuel Diaz is not at risk. If operations continue in the area, they will delay the release and increase the risks. We understand the anguish of the Diaz Marulanda family, to whom we say that we will keep our word to release him unilaterally, as soon as we have security guarantees for the development of the liberation operation.”

While having plenty of distractions to contend with in his personal life, Diaz will be involved when Liverpool return to continental action in France on Thursday.

He stepped off the bench to net a late equaliser for the Reds in their last Premier League outing – a 1-1 draw with Luton – and lifted up his shirt when finding the target to reveal a "LIBERTAD PARA PAPA" (Freedom for Papa) message to his father.

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While Diaz is expected to play some part against Toulouse, Liverpool are without club captain Virgil van Dijk.

Jurgen Klopp said when explaining the Dutch defender’s absence: "Virgil is a little bit ill.

"It will not be a big thing but we did not want to have him on the plane, if some others have it as well.

"I have it a little bit but for me it is not a problem, that's why we left him at home. He should be absolutely all right for the weekend."

Ryan Gravenberch, who is nursing a knee problem, and Curtis Jones, who has a hamstring issue, are also missing for the Reds – who will be back in domestic action on Sunday when playing host to Brentford.