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Liverpool’s forward options have been left depleted for tomorrow’s game against Inter Milan following the decision to leave Mohamed Salah out, with Arne Slot confirming a big blow for Cody Gakpo.
Salah has been left back at home as his teammates head out to Italy for their latest league phase encounter in the Champions League, despite having trained as usual at the AXA Training Centre earlier on Monday.
The decision is said to have been taken by the club with the full support of Arne Slot, with a brief period away from selection regarded as the best option for the club, the squad and Salah himself at the moment following his outburst at the weekend.
The 33-year-old of course hit out at Liverpool and Slot after being left on the bench for a third game in a row at Leeds, with Salah accusing the club of “throwing him under the bus” while claiming that his relationship with the Reds’ head coach had broken down.
Having left him out of the traveling squad to Milan, Liverpool will be without one of its main attacking options for what is a crucial encounter. The Reds sit 13th in the league phase following a humiliating defeat at home to PSV Eindhoven last time out, which has left them a point off the top eight which would see them avoid going through an extra play-off round.
It’s not just Salah that is missing though, with two more of Liverpool’s forwards having not traveled. Cody Gakpo and Federico Chiesa have also been left out, having missed training on Monday.
Slot has confirmed that Gakpo faces a few weeks out of action after picking up an injury against Leeds, while Chiesa misses out through illness.
That leaves Slot’s options in his front line severely lacking. Alexander Isak and Hugo Ekitike are the only recognized forwards that have traveled, with Florian Wirtz and Dominik Szoboszlai likely to have to fill in on at least one of the wings.
Szoboszlai has played on the right in Salah’s absence recently, while Wirtz has spent time on the left already during his short time at Liverpool, but there is little option beyond that.
Seventeen-year-old Rio Ngumoha is the only other attacking option available, and it’s not beyond the realms of possibility that he could make his first start in the Champions League tomorrow.
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The lack of forward options is yet another headache for Slot, who is coming under increasing pressure following Salah’s outburst, which itself came amid a run of just four wins from the last 15 games.
Liverpool is also without Wataru Endo, who also didn’t train on Monday, as well as the injured Jeremie Frimpong and Giovanni Leoni. Frimpong could have also provided another option in attack, having deputised for Salah on the right already this season.
Liverpool.com says: It's not a promising looking squad for tomorrow's game. Liverpool is right to leave Salah out given his behavior at the weekend, although it would have been very tempting to take him given the lack of options.
Ironically, tomorrow's game might well have the perfect opportunity for him to return to the side. That outburst could cost Liverpool in a number of ways now.
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