London (Reuters)
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp says goalkeeper Alisson and striker Diogo Jota will continue to recover from injuries as the pair continue their Community Shield clash against Manchester City.
Jota injured his thigh in training and Klopp did not specify a possible date for his return, but Alisson, who is suffering from an abdominal injury, said: “He will be back for the first round of the new Premier League season.”
“Alisson will be ready for Fulham on August 6, but he won’t play at the weekend,” Klopp told reporters ahead of Saturday’s game at the King Power Stadium. For Diogo, this will unfortunately take some time.
Klopp has confirmed Roberto Firmino is in his plans as the Brazilian striker, who has entered the final year of his contract, is attracting interest from a number of European clubs.
“Bobby is the heart and soul of this team,” Klopp said. That’s why I’m glad he’s trained with us so far.
Klopp said he was saddened by Sadio Mane’s departure after his move to Bayern Munich, but was delighted the Senegal striker made his intentions known so early, joining the club last month as a replacement for Liverpool alongside Darvin Nunes.
“We lost Sadio who was an important player in the starting lineup for six years,” Klopp said. He told us he wanted a new challenge, he told us in advance, and we accepted. We had time to prepare and that’s what we did.
Liverpool lost the league title to City by a single point last season, and when asked if the Community Shield trophy was important to the team, Klopp said he was taking it very seriously.
“It’s the last local cup championship we haven’t won so far and we’ll strive to win the title,” the Germany coach said, adding, “If I win it, it’s a very important match,” he joked. But if you lose, it becomes less important.