Sadio Mane was a key figure in Liverpool’s success last season but some experts believe the forward might not be able to have the same impact.
After such a gruelling campaign with the Reds, the winger was involved in the Africa Cup of Nations with Senegal.
The Lions too had a fine run in the AFCON as they managed to reach the finals only to lose to Algeria which immediately meant that Sadio Mane would have very little time to recover before the new campaign.
And speaking about the winger last month, the Liverpool boss had said that he would be returning back to training after a two-week holiday.
“He is in good shape,” Klopp told the Liverpool’s official website.
“Obviously they had a celebration in Senegal and I’m happy about that because it showed that they respect the competition and saw the second place as a success, which is nice.
“He is now on holiday, not the longest one – he will be back on August 5, after the Manchester City game. That means he had two weeks. There is four or five days to prepare for Norwich, 10 days for Chelsea [in the UEFA Super Cup].”
Now that Sadio Mane’s return date is coming close, many pundits have doubt about his fitness and whether he will be of any help to Liverpool during the first few games of the new Premier League season.
And recently, even Jurgen Klopp was asked the same question.
“Let’s have a look at him,” Klopp told Liverpoolfc.com.
“How we all know, Sadio had 16 days off – he will be in a good shape. He doesn’t drink, he doesn’t eat too much.
“He had a training programme, maybe after 10 days probably he started with a little bit of running, so I think he will be fine. But we have to see.”
