LONDON: Jurgen Klopp is not overtly keen on seeing Mohamed Salah at the Tokyo Olympics and would rather the Egyptian super-striker rest-up during the off-season.
But, he is quick to add that so far it is a hypothetical scenario as Liverpool have yet to be put in a position by Egypt where a difficult decision has to be made.
It has been suggested that a talismanic presence at Anfield will be asked to fill a similar role for his country in Tokyo this summer.
Egyptâs U23 coach Shawky Gharib has stated his desire to have âone of the top three players in the worldâ at his disposal when piecing together a bid for gold medal glory.
Liverpool, though, are eager to avoid seeing their pre-season plans ahead of the 2020-21 campaign disrupted by the absence of a key man.
Were Salah to head off to Asia for more competitive football, then he would need to be eased back into the fold once he returned to Merseyside.
Klopp is hoping that such a situation can be avoided, telling reporters: âDo I want to lose a player in the pre-season? No. Of course not. But we have to consider different things. I will speak with Mo and all that stuff.
âWe are completely clear about what we want, but we need more information â how will it look, when will the preparation start, all that stuff, and nobody has really contacted us so far, itâs just in the media."
The Reds boss added: âWe have had to play already without Mo but not too often, thank God, but from time to time we have to.
âItâs not about that. All the positive things I could say about Mo I have said in the past.
âBut come on, itâs the Olympic Games, Iâm still a sports person, the Olympics is the Olympics, but we have to see.
âWe will have to see how we deal with it. We canât really discuss it really because we donât know anything about it, or not a lot about it."
While Egypt may seek to force the issue when it comes to Salahâs involvement in their plans, Liverpool are expected to stand firm.
