Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mane Expected to Miss Entire US Tour

On the eve of Liverpool’s first preseason friendly, there is some bad news for all the US Reds out there hoping to see all of their favorite Liverpool stars take the pitch: it seems that Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mane will not be joining their teammates on the preseason US tour.

Chris Bascombe of The Telegraph is reporting that two of Liverpool’s potent front three will not be participating in the tour, instead using the time to recover from significant involvement in the Copa America and African Cup of nations. However, he reports there is a chance of Mohamed Salah joining the tour after his Egypt side crashed out of the AFCON early.

The tour kicks off against Jurgen Klopp’s old side, Borussia Dortmund, on July 19th, before playing Sevilla on the 21st, and Sporting Lisbon on the 24th.

This means that if Mane and Firmino want any preseason minutes in their legs, they will have just the two friendlies against Napoli and Lyon, on July 28th and 31st respectively, to prepare.

With Liverpool’s first chance of silverware(ish) coming against Manchester City on August 4th in the Community Shield, the attacking duo will have to work hard to be ready to hit the ground running.

Although some speculate that this could open the door for the likes of Rhian Brewster and Divock Origi to get a real shot at competing for those coveted attacking spots, the truth is that those spots are Mane’s and Firmino’s to lose.