Sadio Mané Deemed Fit For West Ham Clash

Somewhat lost amidst the incredulity and horror of watching Liverpool blow a two-goal lead in the last twenty minutes of their game against Bournemouth was the fact that Sadio Mané went off limping right before the hurricane hit. As the Liverpool injury count began to rise, that Klopp could lose his top goalscorer, in addition to Philippe Coutinho, Daniel Sturridge, and Danny Ings, was unthinkable.

Thankfully it seems that Mané’s subbing off in the 69th minute of the game was a precaution, and the Senegalese winger has been deemed fit by the Liverpool training staff to feature against West Ham on Sunday. While his departure from last weekend’s game may have shifted the momentum into Bournemouth’s favor, Klopp may have saved himself a longer time without him by making the safe decision.

Also returning to training is defender Joël Matip — who is turns out may have been the lynch pin to this whole thing all along. Adam Lallana, out several games with an injury, made his brief return to the side on Sunday, just in time for them to spectacularly crash and burn. Welcome back, son.

Having those three players at his disposal will be a huge boost for Klopp, because they each play a vital role in his set up.

It’s unclear whether Matip or Mané will start the game at Anfield, but the fact that they should be fit enough to make the match day squad is good news.

Still missing from the team long-term is Coutinho, who won’t return until the new year, and the cursed Daniel Sturridge, whose “minor calf strain” looks to be keeping him out of a third game in a row.