Clyne and Mane give Klopp more injury worries
LIVERPOOL received a double blow yesterday when both Nathaniel Clyne and Sadio Mane reported injury concerns.
By far the more serious case, Clyne is set to spend up to another three months on the sidelines after undergoing an operation on his back injury.
The Liverpool defender has not played for the club since picking up the problem in preseason and was ruled out for “a significant period of time” in September, with no return date specified.
Clyne resumed light training at Melwood a fortnight later as manager Jurgen Klopp hailed “a big step” forward in his recovery but the 26-year-old has since suffered a setback.
It is understood that Clyne underwent minor corrective surgery on his back on Monday and that he could now be unavailable to Klopp until as late as February.
The former Southampton right-back is expected to return in time for the run-in to Liverpool’s season, with youngsters Joe Gomez and Trent AlexanderArnold having alternated at rightback in his absence.
Prior to the recent 4-1 victory at West Ham United, Klopp declined to put a timescale on Clyne’s return and confirmed that his rehabilitation had taken “a few steps back”.
“He was in a good way, running with high intensity but the muscle showed a little reaction. That was not an injury, and usually with a healthy and fit player you wouldn’t even think about it,” the Liverpool manager said.
“In his case because it was a little sign again from the back, we took him out and it’s a few steps back again.”
The news about Mane is not nearly as bad but is still hugely irritating as it comes after the Senegalese star has endured an already seriously disrupted season.
He has been released early from international duty after suffering a slight recurrence of an “old injury”, the Senegalese Football Federation (FSF) has said.
The 25-year-old will have his fitness monitored on Merseyside this week after picking up the problem during Senegal’s 2-0 World Cup qualifying win over
Italy, this is the apocalypse, ran a headline on the website of sports daily Gazzetta dello Sport.
“Wasted chances, a bit of bad luck but zero goals in 180 minutes against the Swedes, who will go to Russia,” Gazzetta commented.
Corriere dello Sport, said it will be painful for the country to be on the sidelines when the World Cup kicks off in Russia in June.
“It is an intolerable football shame, an indelible stain,” the newspaper said.
“It is over. Apocalypse, tragedy, catastrophe.” – AFP South Africa last Friday.
Mane has only recently recovered from a hamstring injury, sustained while on duty with Senegal in October.
The winger subsequently missed five games for his club, including the draw with Manchester United and defeat to Tottenham Hotspur, before making a surprise return in the 4-1 victory at West Ham United on 4 November.
A statement on the FSF’s website, published on Sunday evening, did not confirm whether Mane’s latest problem is the same hamstring injury, but with Senegal’s place at the 2018 World Cup now assured, he will be permitted to miss a final dead rubber qualifier against South Africa today. – The Independent