‘These two are real warriors’: Klopp has no fears for return of Mané and Salah

Jürgen Klopp is confident his “warriors” Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mané will be able to process their delight and dejection from the Africa Cup of Nations final and want to get straight back into the battle for the Premier League title.

Liverpool’s two top scorers of the Klopp era face off on Sunday when Salah captains Egypt against Mané’s Senegal in Yaoundé before they team up again against Leicester on Thursday. The Liverpool manager is convinced that, rather than asking for a break, each will be eager to return to action and, while it is likely one will come back to Merseyside jubilant and the other disappointed, he insisted it is not a test of his man-management skills.

“No one asks how they will deal with it,” he said. “I don’t think that will be a problem. Both play a successful tournament. I can deal with it; no problem. I will help them with all I have. When they come back, we will talk and see if they need anything. They are our boys: we will do everything to help them in all the situations.”

The two forwards willingly shoulder a huge workload for Klopp. Salah made the joint most appearances last season and, even though he has been in Africa for a month, only the goalkeeper Alisson has started more games for Liverpool this campaign than their top scorer.

While Klopp expects the beaten finalist back at Anfield sooner, with the winner likely to take the trophy back to his homeland, and will consult both before plunging them back into action, he is likely to have them available on Thursday to bolster an attack that could also include his January signing, Luis Díaz.

“These two boys are real warriors,” he said. “They are constantly ready. They are both not worried about holidays or days off. I never heard them ask