Salah injury doubt deals fresh blow to Liverpool with Jota out for months

Mohamed Salah has emerged as the latest injury concern for Liverpool after Jürgen Klopp confirmed Alisson would be out “for the foreseeable” and Diogo Jota for several months.

Salah is a doubt for Luton’s visit to Anfield on Wednesday despite making his comeback from a month out with a hamstring injury at Brentford only on Saturday. Liverpool’s leading goalscorer was introduced in the 44th minute of the 4-1 win as a replacement for the injured Jota, earlier than hoped, and felt fatigue in the same hamstring after the game.

Klopp, who has lost Trent Alexander-Arnold, Curtis Jones, Jota, Thiago Alcântara and possibly Dominik Szoboszlai to injury for Sunday’s Carabao Cup final, is confident Salah is not facing another substantial layoff. But he cautioned: “It is day by day as well with Mo. It’s a similar area where he feels it [fatigue] a little bit. We have to see how it develops. It’s nothing crazy, but we have to see.”

Szoboszlai’s chances of facing Chelsea on Sunday are receding because the influential midfielder has not resumed team training after the recurrence of a hamstring injury. Jota did not sustain a cruciate ligament injury at Brentford but “it will obviously take months”, according to Klopp, who also gave a pessimistic update on Alisson’s hamstring problem. “We don’t know how long it will take but definitely not for the foreseeable time coming back,” he said.

Darwin Núñez is expected to be available against Luton after being withdrawn as a precaution at half-time on Saturday. Despite the lengthening injury list, Klopp insists Liverpool cannot bemoan their misfortune or seek excuses as they continue their pursuit of the Premier League title.

The Liverpool manager said:“Whatever line up we have tomorrow night I want people not to be in a situation where they are like: ‘Oh he’s out, he’s out, he’s out.’ A couple of players will be out, that is definitely the case.

“It is bad luck, yes, but it is absolutely our job tomorrow night to be as strong as possible and if we play at home I have to ask for the support. If we are in a good mood and go for it but the crowd thinks: ‘Yes but he would have scored there’ then that is a problem. Whoever plays will run his socks off, that is clear.… As long as we have 11 players we will go for it and that is exactly the idea.”