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Sunderland face Liverpool in the Premier League on Wednesday evening
Liverpool boss Arne Slot has delivered a team news update ahead of his side’s Premier League clash with Sunderland on Wednesday evening, as well as admitting that star man Mo Salah was not happy about being dropped for Sunday’s timely 2-0 win over West Ham.
The reigning champions recorded just their fourth victory in 13 matches across all competitions at the London Stadium, with Salah rotated out of the starting XI following a questionable run of form in recent weeks.
And speaking to the media on Tuesday morning, when asked if the Egyptian was dissatisfied about being benched, Slot responded: “No, that's a fair assumption and that's a normal reaction from a player that's good enough to play for us. And then I say it mildly because he's been so outstanding for this club for so many years and will be for us in the future.
“So yeah, of course a player isn't happy if they're not playing. He wasn't the only one who wasn't happy that he wasn't starting, I can tell you - and that's normal. But the way he behaved was as you would expect from the professional he is. He was very supportive for his teammates, handled himself really well during the day and yesterday in the session as well. So you cannot be a player that's available every three days and play on that high standards if you go with your emotions. For Mo, he's so disciplined, knows what to do to stay fit, and no matter if he plays well, doesn't play well, if he plays or if he doesn't play, he will always be that top professional - and that's what he was in the last two days.”
Slot was also asked if it is easy to forget sometimes that players of Salah’s calibre and reputation are also human, to which he replied: “Fortunately for the time I've been here, I didn't have to remember that because he's been a superhuman being. But as all players around the world, there are also phases in your time at the club that you are human, is the way you put it. But yeah, he scored so many goals for us and I'm sure he will in the future.”
What else did Liverpool boss Arne Slot say ahead of Sunderland clash?
Elsewhere, Slot addressed the respective fitness levels of summer signings Florian Wirtz and Alexander Isak - both of whom impacted the game against West Ham, but who have also spent time on the treatment table of late.
When asked if both were ready to go again against Sunderland in midweek, the Dutch boss answered: “I haven't felt so much about that because yesterday we had a recovery and after this press conference we're going to train, so let's see how players feel. Florian, for example, has missed out one-and-a-half, two weeks of training, so for him to already play so many minutes was a good thing... Joe Gomez is one of them, so let's see.
“It was encouraging to see Florian playing that well, but it's not the first time he played well for us. Maybe the first time other people noticed, but I've seen him playing well for us many times already. And for Alex to score his first goal is also very positive. Also a player who couldn't play, I think, five to ten more minutes than he played because he told me yesterday that he felt a little bit of cramp coming up already. So another player where we should see how he does when he trains today.”
He continued: “I think they're not able to play three times 90. That's for sure. And now I have to wait and see how they feel today, if they are able to play tomorrow from the start again. But that all three of them can be involved in all three games, if they don't get an injury, that's a fair assumption to make.”
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Slot also confirmed that full-backs Conor Bradley and Jeremie Frimpong are both working their way back to full fitness, but that neither will be ready for Wednesday’s meeting at Anfield.
He said: “Conor got into a training session yesterday for the first time... Team training, yeah. Not everything 100 per cent yet, so we have to manage that a little bit. Don't get your hopes up too soon, too fast. But the good thing is that he does certain parts with the group already, and we expect the same with Jeremy next week, so the two of them come back.
“But unfortunately we play a lot of games in the upcoming one, so Jeremy, if he's training with us next week, he will miss out on a few more games, for example. But the two of them come back. I hope he [Bradley] will be available for Leeds.”
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