Klopp offers hope over Salah’s fitness

Jurgen Klopp has refused to rule any players out of Liverpool’s visit to Everton tomorrow amid suggestions that Mohamed Salah and Andy

Robertson are fitness doubts.

Both players missed last week’s behindcloseddoors friendly thrashing of Blackburn

Rovers at Anfield with what were described as minor issues.

But, while Robertson has since been photographed taking part in training at Melwood, Salah has not, leading to speculation that he is facing a battle to make tomorow’s game.

When asked if either man is a doubt for Liverpool’s first fixture since football was paused in March, Klopp remained upbeat.

He said: “They look all good. We had, of course, during the training period some little problems, that’s completely normal how we always have it.

“But none of them is ruled out for Sunday, I can say.”

One man who could benefit from Salah’s potential absence is January signing Takumi Minamino.The Japanese has struggled for game time since his arrival from RB Salzburg, with Klopp keen to give him time to adapt to new surroundings. But, when asked if the enforced break and a second pre-season has benefited his latest acquisition, the manager replied: “Oh yes, massively so.

“New players coming in, usually how it is with us we say the first two, three, four months we don’t judge.

“But I know the public does and that means that we have to always explain why it’s not like this, why it’s not like that. The more time you have, for whatever reason, the better it is.

“And now we had four weeks, which is by the way the longest pre-season I had with any Liverpool side all together. That’s a massive difference.

“Usually we have - all together one week. I think last year it was not even a week when Sadio came back!

“It helped… Taki, 100 per cent, he looks really different in the moment than the first three weeks when he tried to please everybody and do everything we say in a language he’s not 100 per cent comfortable with.”

London Evening Standard