Sadio Mane Liverpool 2018-19Getty Images

Klopp confirms Mane available to start against Napoli

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has confirmed that Sadio Mane will be available for selection from the start against Napoli on Tuesday.

Mane, having received an 'awful' cut on his foot during the Merseyside Derby, was introduced as a substitute after 65 minutes in the Reds' 4-0 demolition of Bournemouth on Saturday after sitting out their previous clash with Burnley.

Speaking ahead of the crunch Champions League clash against the Serie A side this week, Klopp issued an update on the status of his squad's availability and said that the Senegalese star could well feature.

Article continues below

"Sadio can deal with the pain obviously – it looked like that in Bournemouth, so that’s cool," the German told a press conference. "It’s good enough that we can consider him at least.

"We have two sessions still to come – we’ll train tomorrow morning as well. That’s very important. We have the meeting to do. In the squad there is nothing really serious after the game, that’s good.

"We will see how Dejan [Lovren] is doing. Yesterday he was out on the pitch and looked quite well. Can he be part of training today or not? We will see. Squad-wise, [there is] no bad news at least."

Adam Lallana was another question mark heading into the presser, with the England international having picked up a nasty head injury during the Bournemouth match, but Klopp is confident that the midfielder is also ready to play.

Adam Lallana head injuryGetty

“[Adam Lallana] looked fine," he said. "Nobody told me differently. He was running yesterday."

Joe Gomez, who started the season in fine fettle alonside Virgil van Dijk, is seen as a big miss among the Anfield faithful, an untimely leg fracture forcing the defender to sit out for around a month.

They will, however, be buoyed by the fact that the young star has pledged his future to the club, signing an improved five-year deal with the Reds that has understandably pleased their manager.

"Since I've been here his development has been incredible," Klopp said of the 21-year-old. "A bit delayed due to a serious injury and then he needed a bit of time, but Last year he was brilliant and this year he was outstanding.

"This is the right club for him, the right environment. The future is bright for him."

Fellow centre-back Van Dijk was also in attendance at the pre-match press conference, and echoed the thoughts of his manager on the starlet.

"Joe Gomez's deal is well deserved," the Dutchman said. “He’s a great player and he’s shown it for us and for England. He’s only going to get better.”

Advertisement