JURGEN KLOPP must believe his worst fears are being realised as he surveys his Anfield casualty ward.
Either that or he is thinking Somebody Up There is out to get him and his Prem champs following Mo Salah’s positive test for Covid-19.
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The Liverpool boss already faced 13 injuries or absences due to the virus before Egyptian king Salah’s self-isolation.
Come the Reds’ return to Prem action a week tomorrow, he will be without not only his attacker but also Virgil Van Dijk, Trent Alexander- Arnold, Fabinho, Joe Gomez and Alex–Chamberlain.
Thiago Alcantara also remains a doubt for the clash with Leicester, while Van Dijk and Gomez may not be available again this season.
Klopp has twice voiced his fears over the threat of Covid to his travelling international stars — and SIXTEEN are now on international duty.
So he may well be thinking of going further with a veiled threat over stopping his international players from travelling, unless the football associations are clear on plans to protect stars from the virus.
He has declared: “For us, it feels safer when we are all together, even though we had some cases as well.
“Not too many, but some, and none for a while, which is good. But this is the time we are living in.
“The problem with that situation is we have no power.
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“We try to find out what the protocols are with the different FAs. But it’s up to the FAs to answer or not, so Fifa is not really involved.
“That would be a massive help if you don’t get a reply from an FA, for example, then we don’t send a player.”
Meanwhile, Klopp is watching his title–winning squad fall apart before his eyes.
And he still has those 16 players to fret about as they travel to places as far apart as Chad, Uruguay, Israel and Guinea-Bissau.
Klopp’s concerns over fixture congestion and player safety have been echoed by rival bosses Pep Guardiola and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
And the hectic run of games has left the German bewildered, alongside fellow bosses, that clubs cannot use five subs — as was the case to finish last season after lockdown.
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