The fitness of Liverpool pair Sadio Mane and Emre Can has been much talked about this week, but it looks as though concerns could be ruled out.
It was sparked by the fact that the pair appeared to be absent from training on Thursday, as they weren’t seen in any of the images published by the club on their official site, as noted by the Liverpool Echo.
In turn, it raised question marks over whether or not they’d picked up injuries or were merely being rested with Liverpool set to play four games in less than a fortnight given their involvement in the Champions League playoff qualifying round against Hoffenheim.
Losing Mane and Can, especially at a time when Jurgen Klopp is already without key individuals such as Philippe Coutinho and Adam Lallana, would have been seen as a nightmare by supporters, but it looks as though they should be getting some good news when the teams are revealed later on Saturday afternoon.
Reputable freelance injury data analyst Ben Dinnery has been keeping Reds fans updated with the latest on the pair, and he’s suggested that they shouldn’t have too much to fear as he expects both Mane and Can to feature against Crystal Palace at Anfield on Saturday, as seen in the tweet below.
Point in question….. Mane
Nothing official at this moment to suggest he [or Can] won't feature against Palace.
— Ben Dinnery (@BenDinnery) August 19, 2017
He can’t confirm for certain that the influential pair will be in Klopp’s starting line-up, but this is the most positive update thus far that Liverpool won’t be further weakened by injuries as he seems pretty confident that they’ll be involved. Given he does it for a living, it’s worth giving plenty of weight to his injury updates…