Scottish Daily Mail

COULD JURGEN HAVE AVOIDED MANE BLOW?

- MARTIN KEOWN

ROMELU LUKAKU will have left Manchester to join up with Belgium last week with strict instructio­ns from Jose Mourinho: ‘Don’t get injured.’ Did Jurgen Klopp say the same to Sadio Mane? Lukaku is central to the United manager’s game plan at Anfield tomorrow. He will want to hurt Liverpool on the counter-attack with the blistering pace of Lukaku (right) and Marcus Rashford. That is why Mourinho was keen for Roberto Martinez to rest Lukaku in Belgium’s dead rubber against Cyprus — especially after he had missed the previous match against Bosnia and Herzegovin­a with an ankle problem. In the end, Lukaku made a 24-minute goalscorin­g cameo and will now be able to play a pivotal role against Liverpool. The same cannot be said for Mane, who could miss the next 10 games after suffering a hamstring injury playing for Senegal in their 2-0 win over Cape Verde. Klopp is different to Mourinho. He has an emotional connection with every one of his players and you feel he really wants them to be happy. As he left Liverpool, was Mane told that he must return fit? I kept coming back with injuries after playing for England. I had two major operations — one on a shoulder and another on a knee — as a result of injuries picked up while on internatio­nal duty. Arsene Wenger used to tell me to not pick up an injury during the internatio­nal break. In one England game, my hamstring felt tight and, with Wenger’s message in my ear, asked Kevin Keegan if I could come off at half-time. Keegan was very understand­ing. Mane’s injury is a huge blow to Liverpool. They have often struggled without him. His absence tips the match in United’s favour.

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