Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp has given an update on when his star forward Sadio Mane wil be returning from holiday. The attacker was representing his national team Senegal, who made it to the final of the African Cup Of Nations (AFCON), 2019. With that being said, the player will want some rest before he makes his return and the German manager has given an update on the player’s plans of coming back to Anfield, after his summer holiday.
The former Borussia Dortmund main-man has stated that the player will return after the Community Shield encounter against Manchester City next month. The player who helped his team reach the finals of the AFCON, only to lose out to Algeria 1-0 (Mahrez’s team), needs some rest after a long previous campaign and international duty that followed.
He has been in the thick of the action for so long that the break that he is getting now, comes as a welcomed one. The Reds are keen on winning the league in the upcoming season and will be defending their Champions League title as well.
With that being said, Klopp will want the player to be fit and ready to go, for which he has allowed him to skip the Community Shield. The fans would have hoped that he would play that game, but it seems that he will be rested, as per what the Kop boss has no said.
Klopp assured the fans that their star player will return to the Merseyside outfit around the 5th of August, prior to their opening encounter against Norwich City. He told the club’s official website, “Obviously they had a celebration in Senegal and I am happy about that because it showed that they respect the competition and saw the second place as a success, which is nice.”
“He is now on holiday, not the longest one – he will be back on August 5, after the Manchester City game. That means he had two weeks.”
“There is four or five days to prepare for Norwich, 10 days for Chelsea [in the UEFA Super Cup].”
With another tough season on the way, it is good to see that Klopp isn’t rushing his player in, which could see him pick up an injury or face burnout, if the season is another long one. Mane scored a tally of 22 goals, with one assist in his 36 appearances in the top flight of English football.
The 27 year old superstar was the joint top scorer in the Premier League, along with his team-mate Mo Salah and Arsenal’s Aubameyang. Mane would now want to work on his assists column and create more goals, so that the team can finally win the league title.
The Anfield faithful are keen on ending the title drought and their focus is the league now, after being the champions of Europe once again last season. Only time will tell whether they can actually do it or not and Mane will surely be a key player in making it happen, if Liverpool are able to actually win the league this term.