News'We have to be creative' - Klopp on Salah absence and multiple competitions

Salah has joined up with the Egypt squad set to compete at the Africa Cup of Nations, which gets under way in the Ivory Coast on January 13.

The Reds’ No.11 has, as ever, been in fine form this season, contributing 18 goals and eight assists in all competitions so far.

At his press conference ahead of the Emirates FA Cup tie against Arsenal, the manager was asked about mitigating Salah’s unavailability during his participation at AFCON.

“Mo can’t play all the time,” Klopp told reporters. “In the games I rotated him, Mo was probably in the physical state to start the game but I think it makes sense from time to time not going through all of the brick walls.

“Now, we have to see. We have different options and we can change system. When Mo is playing it makes sense that we play a specific way so that he can be in his favourite position, he deserves that and he helps us there the most.

“But when he’s not there we have to be creative and maybe we will be. I don’t know what surprises you after all these years but maybe it will! Let’s see.”

As Liverpool enter a fourth tournament of the campaign with their third-round trip to Emirates Stadium, Klopp also dismissed the notion that competing on multiple fronts this season may have a negative impact on his squad.

“No, not at all,” he said. “The season with the three finals and a really intense Premier League season [2021-22] was intense while we were in it, but it was good fun as well, to be honest.

“The games the boys played, the two finals [Carabao Cup and FA Cup] against Chelsea were two of the best draws I saw in my life – unbelievably intense, technically at a super-high level – so it was a wonderful experience. And playing at Wembley is a top experience. I would not change it for anything. It was absolutely great.

“Obviously a Champions League final is not on the horizon but maybe there is a Europa League final, which is really difficult to reach because there are a couple of really good teams in it.

“But no, you cannot really think like that. The summer is a longer summer for some, although there is the Euros as well. It’s always like that. We cannot go out of a competition just because we think we might have a problem next year. That would be a problem we have to sort then.”