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Kolo Toure Ready To Step In For Sakho Against Villarreal

Kolo Toure says that he's ready to play if Klopp should call on him to fill in for Sakho on Thursday against Villarreal.

Clive Brunskill/Getty Images

Manager Jürgen Klopp has a decision to make regarding who takes the place of Mamadou Sakho in the first leg of the Europa League semi-final against Villarreal on Thursday. The Ivorian already played 90 minutes on Saturday when Liverpool and Newcastle battled to a 2-2 draw at Anfield, but he is confident that he could put in another shift on Thursday if called upon.

He said: "If they call me up, of course I will be really happy. I think I did some good things [against Newcastle]. I need to recover and I’ll be ready mentally.

"Martin Skrtel is there as well and Lucas [Leiva] can play at the back too. It is up to the manager. For me, the most important thing is the club, the team. It is going to be a big two games and you need to do your best for the club.

"We’re without a few good players and it’s tough times when your mates are out but we have shown the strength of the squad."

Given his age and his history of being injury-prone, it seems unlikely that Klopp has Toure in mind for Thursday. More likely, it will be Lucas Leiva once again filling in the center-back position in Sakho's place. However, regardless of whether he plays against Villarreal, Toure's talents will be necessary to help see Liverpool through the rest of the season.

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