It’s less than 24-hours from kick-off as Liverpool take on Hertha Berlin in a prestige friendly to celebrate both of the clubs 125th anniversaries and despite the rash of injuries that Reds boss Jurgen Klopp has to deal with, he’s got some good news as well.
“Danny will not be in the squad, for him it is too early – but Sadio will be in the squad for sure,” said the German manager, hinting that the Senegalese attacker could get a few minutes against the Bundesliga side tomorrow. “Yes [he will be in the squad]. After this long time, of course he is keen to play that’s how footballers are,” added Klopp, doing the same for Liverpool midfielder Emre Can, before switching gears to the defense. “Tomorrow we will give all the players we take with us the opportunity to play – and that includes Andrew also.”
With a crucial Champions League qualifier and the start of the season bearing down, the Reds have a packed schedule as they look to get up to speed. The meeting with Hertha is at the forefront, but they’ve got two matches in the Audi Cup — with a guaranteed square-go with Bayern Munich on Tuesday — as well as the visit of La Liga outfit Athletic Club Bilbao before we can start talking about competitive football.
“A few boys will stay here and do a bit of recovery work, or what they need to do – maybe some running!” said Klopp with a laugh, knowing full well he’s going to have to rotate to not only keep everyone a chance, but keep them fresh. “Then we have games on Tuesday and Wednesday, then Saturday again,” added the Reds boss, looking ahead. “We will deal with the intensity, but tomorrow all of the boys we take with us will play.”
