When considering who to put in place of the Egyptian in Liverpool’s starting lineup, Jurgen Klopp has made jokes about hoping Wataru Endo and Mohamed Salah leave the team too soon.
The two were starters in Liverpool’s 4-2 triumph over Newcastle United on New Year’s Day. However, they will now probably miss more than a month of Liverpool action as they travel to represent Egypt in the African Cup of Nations and Japan in the Asian Cup, respectively.
As they depart, the Reds are leading the Premier League and getting ready to play Fulham in the League Cup semifinals and travel to Arsenal in the FA Cup third round. While teasing that he would want to have both players available, Klopp also wished them luck and insisted that Liverpool will be able to win games even without them.
“I said if I wish you good luck it would be a lie (laughs)!” he joked to reporters. “No, I do obviously (wish them luck), but from a personal point of view I would be overly happy if they go out in the group stages but it is probably not possible.
