Jurgen Klopp believes Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk are on course to be ready for the Champions League final but will not gamble on his top scorer’s fitness on Sunday when Liverpool go for the Premier League title and the Egyptian could win the Golden Boot.
Salah and Van Dijk both missed Tuesday’s 2-1 win over Southampton after coming off in the FA Cup final with groin and knee injuries respectively and they face a race against time to feature against Wolves at Anfield.
Klopp said it would be his preference to field each this weekend to get them match sharpness ahead of the meeting with Real Madrid in Paris on 28 May.
Fabinho, who missed the FA Cup final, is also expected to be available for the Champions League final while Liverpool received a positive update about Joe Gomez, who came off at St Mary’s with an ankle problem.
Klopp said: “We had good news yesterday. We had one reassuring further scan. We were lucky. Everybody was a bit concerned and I was until I saw Joe’s face in the dressing room.”
Salah is one goal ahead of Tottenham’s Heung-Min Son, who faces Norwich on Sunday, in scoring charts and Klopp added: “We actually understand 100 percent the goalscoring battle with Son Heung-Min, but there's no chance we take any risk. Mo doesn't want to take any risks, I've no doubt about that.
"It looks good and the boys have made steps, but we will see. What we do with them for the weekend, I have no idea. My preferred solution is they would play at the weekend for rhythm reasons, or at least be on the bench so we could bring them on, but if not then we take it from there. I cannot say 100 percent."
Klopp believes Divock Origi will get a huge ovation on his last game at Anfield before he leaves Liverpool when his contract expires in the summer.
The striker has a history of important goals, including two against Barcelona in the 2019 Champions League semi-final and another against Tottenham in the final, leading Klopp to brand him a Liverpool great.
He added: “I expect Div to get a special reception or farewell. He is and will be for me forever a Liverpool legend, one of the most important players I ever had. It is a pure joy to work together. He deserves all good thoughts we can generate for his future. Wherever he will go, he will be successful. He is an outstanding player and an outstanding boy. Everybody in the team loves him.”
