Liverpool hoping Jurgen Klopp will be back for FA Cup third-round tie vs Shrewsbury | Football News
Liverpool are hoping Jurgen Klopp is back in the dugout for Sunday’s home FA Cup tie against Shrewsbury Town.
Klopp’s assistant coach Peter Krawietz was speaking at Saturday’s news conference in place of his boss, who has been isolating after testing positive for coronavirus ahead of last Sunday’s 2-2 draw at Chelsea.
Liverpool’s squad has been decimated by Covid this week, forcing Thursday’s Carabao Cup semi-final first leg against Arsenal to be postponed and their training ground to be shut down.
As things stand, Sunday’s match at Anfield against the League One side will go ahead, but Liverpool will have to wait for Klopp to test negative before getting confirmation he will be on the touchline.
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With Liverpool’s EFL Cup game against Arsenal being postponed, reporter Vinny O’Connor looks at the potential knock-on effect for the team and their fixture congestion
“We hope so of course,” Krawietz said when asked if Klopp would be back.
“He is well so far, he feels fine, but of course the regulations are how they are, and he has to do tests as well. We hope he will be fine to be in tomorrow, yes.”
Liverpool recall unnamed loan player
Krawietz also revealed an unnamed player had been recalled from his loan spell ahead of Sunday’s game and said defender Joel Matip is back in training.
“Yes, we have one loan player back and he will probably join the squad tomorrow,” said the Liverpool assistant boss.
“Of course we are searching for options for this game and for this squad nearly everywhere. We found enough players to build a team.
“I can’t talk about names. Please understand my situation, I can’t talk about that. Joel Matip joined training yesterday again, but we have to see whether he is available or not.”
Could Liverpool make signings this month?
Krawietz says the club may “react” with signings in this January transfer window due to the impact of coronavirus and the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) on their squad.
As well as Thursday’s postponement, Liverpool have also lost Mohamed Salah, Naby Keita and Sadio Mane with AFCON getting underway on Sunday – live on Sky Sports
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Asked about their January transfer plans, Krawietz said: “This is a long-term decision, we take the situation like it is. We always try to do our best.
“We knew about the AFCON situation for a few months, and hopefully they are successful in this tournament.
“The Covid situation is like it is, if it’s necessary to react in the transfer market it’s a club decision, but we have to discuss that.”
