Salah May Return Next Week, Klopp Says

Liverpool's forward Mohamed Salah. (AFP)
Liverpool's forward Mohamed Salah. (AFP)
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Salah May Return Next Week, Klopp Says

Liverpool's forward Mohamed Salah. (AFP)
Liverpool's forward Mohamed Salah. (AFP)

Liverpool winger Luis Diaz is fit while Darwin Nunez and Dominik Szoboszlai could also be back for their trip to Nottingham Forest on Saturday but forward Mohamed Salah will not return until at least next week, manager Juergen Klopp said.

Klopp has been wrestling with an injury crisis in recent weeks that has sidelined several key players and forced him to turn to the club's academy to plug the holes.

Diogo Jota, Trent Alexander-Arnold, goalkeeper Alisson, Curtis Jones, Salah, Nunez and Szoboszlai all missed last Sunday's League Cup final win over Chelsea along with a number of longer term absentees.

Diaz then sat out Wednesday's FA Cup win over Southampton, but is fine to face Forest - along with midfielder Alexis Mac Allister, who has been ill.

"(Diaz) is fine and Macca (Alexis Mac Allister) is fine," Klopp told reporters on Friday.

"Darwin and Dom trained yesterday with the team so we will see how they react," the Liverpool manager added, according to AFP.

Salah has not featured for the Premier League leaders since their visit to Brentford on Feb. 17 when he made a brief return after suffering an injury at the Africa Cup of Nations, but he could be in contention for next Sunday's game against title rivals Manchester City.

"I don't think Mo (Salah) is too far off. He will not feature tomorrow... I think next week, any point, it's possible."

Midfielder Wataru Endo and left back Andy Robertson also both missed the midweek win over Southampton but are set to train with the team on Friday. Mac Allister and Robertson were both briefly sick with the same illness, Klopp said.

Liverpool's youngsters have stepped up to the plate in the absence of the established starters with 18-year-olds Jayden Danns and Lewis Koumas scoring their first goals for the senior team in Wednesday's 3-0 FA Cup win over Championship side Southampton.

Klopp said it was his job to protect the youngsters from the spotlight.

"I know that they are not ready to it... it was wonderful, they deserve it, of course, the spotlight that night... but now it's about dealing with the challenges coming up," he said.

The manager said Liverpool were under pressure to win every match to stay ahead in the title race, a situation similar to 17th-placed Forest who are fighting to stay clear of the relegation zone.

"We are only one point above Man City and two above Arsenal but that means nothing," he said.

"Nottingham is a great place to play but a difficult one. The situation they are in is a similar one to us, they need to win games to reach their target as much as we can," he added.

Forest, with 24 points, are four points above the relegation zone.



Paris 2024 Opening Ceremony: Saudi Team Highlights Cultural Heritage

Saudi athletes wave their country’s flag during the opening parade. (Saudi Olympic Committee)
Saudi athletes wave their country’s flag during the opening parade. (Saudi Olympic Committee)
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Paris 2024 Opening Ceremony: Saudi Team Highlights Cultural Heritage

Saudi athletes wave their country’s flag during the opening parade. (Saudi Olympic Committee)
Saudi athletes wave their country’s flag during the opening parade. (Saudi Olympic Committee)

Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki Al-Faisal, Chairman of the Saudi Olympic and Paralympic Committee, and his deputy, Prince Fahd bin Jalawi bin Abdulaziz, attended the opening ceremony of the 33rd Olympic Games in Paris.

Held outside the traditional stadiums for the first time in history, the ceremony featured a parade of the 206 participating countries on 100 boats traveling approximately 6 kilometers along the Seine River.

The Saudi show jumping team player, Ramzy Al-Duhami, and his colleague, the Saudi Taekwondo champion Dunya Aboutaleb, raised the Saudi flag at the opening of the world’s largest sporting event.

Al-Duhami expressed his pride in raising the Kingdom’s flag alongside his teammate, noting that it was a dream for any Saudi citizen. He wished success for the Saudi athletes in representing Saudi sports with distinction.

Aboutaleb, in turn, said he was honored to carry the Kingdom’s flag at the Olympic Games, stating: “I aspire to perform at a level that reflects the support and attention given to sports in the Kingdom.”

The Saudi athletes’ uniform was admired by the international media and the audience, who applauded the players the moment their boat appeared on the Seine River.

The designs for the opening ceremony were chosen through a national competition organized by the Saudi Arabian Olympic and Paralympic Committee, with the participation of designers from across the Kingdom.

Out of 128 competing designers, the chosen uniform by Saudi designer Alia Al-Salmi featured traditional men’s thobes and bishts and brightly patterned thobe al-nashal for women, symbolizing the athletes’ pride in their homeland and cultural roots.

Mashael Al-Ayed, 17, will be the first Saudi athlete to compete, taking to the pool for the 200 meters freestyle swimming event on July 28. Al-Ayed is the first female swimmer to represent Saudi Arabia at the Olympics.