Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah has been ruled out of the club's second-leg Champions League semi-final with Barcelona.
Salah suffered a head injury in Liverpool's 3-2 win over Newcastle at St James' Park on Saturday evening, and it has been confirmed by the club that the Egyptian will miss the club's second match against the Catalans tomorrow night.
Jurgen Klopp has confirmed that both Salah and Roberto Firmino will miss the match, the latter continuing to recover from a muscle injury.
That man Mo! 🇪🇬👑@MoSalah has been named the @PFA Fans' Player of the Month for April 👏#PFAFansAward pic.twitter.com/zs2btKOTTs
— Liverpool FC (@LFC) May 6, 2019
Liverpool are already facing an uphill task against Barca, having lost 3-0 to a Leo Messi-inspired side in the Camp Nou last Wednesday.
Salah missed a chance late on in that game to give Liverpool a crucial away goal, but Reds fans will be hoping that the famed Anfield buzz on European nights will be able to see the side through to their second successive Champions League final.
Jurgen Klopp spoke of the need for the Reds to be at their absolute best tomorrow night in order to progress:
“The result at Barcelona didn’t help a lot, honestly. We tried all the way through that to score.
“We have that result and we have to deal with it. Let’s give it a try with all we have.
“There’s hope and it’s football. We are not in a situation where we say it will happen 100% but it’s football.
“The character of the boys....two of the world’s best strikers are not available and we have to score four goals to go through in 90 minutes.
“As long as we have 11 players on the pitch we will try for 90 minutes to celebrate the Champions League campaign to give it a proper finish.
“That’s the plan. If we can do it wonderful. If we can’t do it, let’s fail in the most beautiful way,” said Klopp.
Liverpool arguably deserve some luck given the way the match last week panned out, and Loris Karius' performance in last season's showpiece event, but Salah has succumbed to concussion in a week where the issue has come back to the fore in English football.
Tottenham defender Jan Vertonghen suffered a suspected concussion during his side's 1-0 loss to Ajax in the other Champions League semi-final.
Subscribe to Off The Ball's YouTube channel for more videos, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter for the latest sporting news and content.
