Jurgen Klopp said Mohamed Salah was never in contention to start for Liverpool against Manchester City on Sunday, as the Egyptian had to settle for a place on the bench.
The Reds forward suffered a hamstring injury during the Africa Cup of Nations in January and then faced another muscle problem upon his return to Liverpool last month.
He has not played in the Premier League since the win at Brentford on 17 February, but did come off the bench against Sparta Prague on Thursday.
Liverpool fans hoped he might be fit enough to start in the huge clash with City on Sunday but Klopp confirmed that was never really an option and he will call upon him off the bench when needed.
‘No not at all, we didn’t even consider him starting the game,’ the Liverpool boss told Sky Sports.
‘I think we can make a lot of things in life and we should learn from them. Not that Mo was the last time back too early, he was unlucky that he got a little setback, but we talk about that with Mo as well.
‘It was not his idea or my idea to start him today, it will be an intense game, we can bring him on which is super cool but it was not a big decision.’
Ibrahima Konate has not even made the bench for Liverpool against the champions, missing out after being taken off during the second half on Thursday.
More to follow…
