UNFIT DIAZ SET TO MISS SHOWDOWN IN MADRID

LUIS DIAZ is set to miss Liverpool’s rescue mission against Real Madrid after Jurgen Klopp confirmed the influential forward is not yet able to train.

The Colombia international had a huge impact in the second half of last season following his £50million move from Porto but he has not played since damaging his knee at Arsenal on October 9.

Klopp still expects Diaz to have an input later in the season as Liverpool — who face Wolves this evening — try to hunt down a top-four place, but the forward is unlikely to be ready for the game in Madrid on March 15.

‘It’s a different situation to last season,’ said Klopp. ‘He came here having played all the games for Porto pretty much and now he’s out with an injury for the second time.

‘I can tell you the two sessions he had with us in Dubai, it was like, “Oh my God, how good is that!”

‘Then he was injured again. When he is back, he will be really good and very impactful, of course.

‘How quickly, I don’t know. We have to see. That’s the big challenge in these moments. There’s no time for being patient but you have to be patient.

‘I’m positive about him that there’s a good chance to have a real impact in 10, 11, 12 games maybe.

‘We will see how long it exactly takes. It’s estimated that maybe next week he will be warming up with the team then a week later being in team training.’ Klopp does not believe the gap between Liverpool and the top four is insurmountable but has made it clear there is no margin for error.

‘I really think we are ready,’ he said. ‘If there is a club that can do it I really think it is us. ‘Because all the things we achieved these last years we achieved together.

We will strike back in general but now we have to make sure that we really squeeze everything out of this season that we can get.’