Mohamed Salah has an intense schedule coming up. It highlights exactly why Jurgen Klopp is so concerned about player welfare.
Jurgen Klopp is openly worried about the amount of football. He talked last month about October, November and December all being ‘December’ fixture lists.
That is, whereas the Christmas schedule is usually intense, the compacted season necessitates that several months are just as packed.
But one player’s schedule likely worries him above all – Mohamed Salah. The Egyptian faces a quite ridiculous summer on the back of this unusual season.
Game time
Salah, like every elite player, is playing a lot of football right now. There will be 12 games before New Year, for instance – roughly one every three days.
No real let up, then, and Salah may not get much of a summer break. Egypt want him for their Olympic squad, a competition that ends just days before next season’s Premier League starts.
On top of that, the Africa Cup of Nations is set for early 2022. Salah will surely play that, too, meaning he faces intense, competitive football constantly.
His only break would come in June, with the Olympics starting in July. And again, that’s on the back of a particularly difficult season.
No wonder Klopp is worried about his players, then. Salah may not be the only one facing a similar situation, for one. We know Sadio Mane and Naby Keita will play the AFCON, if not the Olympics.
There are too many games being played in too little time. Injuries are happening all over the place and there’s more to come – Klopp has every right to worry.
If something doesn’t change soon, Salah will be run beyond ragged. How can he possibly be the same player for Liverpool if that happens?
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